Kingdom of Ashburn: The Secrets of Bloodlust
by inactiveeeeeeee
Summary: This story follows the main plot of TLK, but it has some AU moments as well. Instead of using lions as the characters, they are humans, but not just any kind of humans... Read more in Authors Note inside.
1. Prologue

**AUTHOR NOTE:**

Hey, it's **Shadowland** here… and I just wanted to tell all my reviewers that I'm not quitting the trilogy for TLK, I just need a little break… I'm running out of ideas for TLK, so I decided to go onto my next project, **Ashburn**. I outlined it and everything, to me it looks pretty cool, but I'm not sure, _it all depends on you_. Now, you might be pissed off about **Schism**, but I promise you… I may either fluctuate between the two stories **(Trust me, I can do it)** or I'll wait for this one to be done. I just can't get into a Simba's Pride story, I guess, but I'm trying to do it… it's just difficult and I think I need to outline it… Surprisingly enough, I didn't need to outline for Fight or Flight… or Uprising. I wrote exactly what came to mind, but for Schism it's just not working out… SO… here's my next project… I hope you enjoy, and please please please keep an open mind about this, if you do, I'm sure you will _like it so much more._

So… Ashburn is the name of the kingdom and also the last name of the royal family. **(Only men could succeed the throne, so it's like having children until you get a boy)** The king and Queen are warlocks and witches, and they have a son named Drake Ashburn. **(He's the Simba of the story)** I sort of think of this story almost like a TV show type thing… XD to me, it's gonna be good, but I'm not so sure if you're ready for it! ;)

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Now for the **BRIEF** summary:

Centuries ago, when Thaddeus Ashburn was king, the vampires went on a killing spree, murdering half the kingdom. Being a warlock, he banished the vampires and sealed this banishment with a magical gate. This gate prevents them from getting into the kingdom and harming anyone in the process. The curse of King Thaddeus states that you can only let a vampire into the kingdom, if someone from the royal family invites them in or uplifts the curse himself or herself. This kind of magic is extremely life threatening and may kill anyone who isn't a powerful witch or warlock.

This is going to be a SOMEWHAT _AU _version of **TLK**, using human characters of course. I will stick to a basic storyline, but the '**Simba**' of my story may act a little more snarky and amoral after his father's death. It may be a little more realistic, I suppose. Also, more realistic falling in love... They aren't going to look at one another and be like OH I LOVE YOU, it's going to have much deeper meaning and they'll fall for one another eventually. Give it time ;)  


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**CHARACTERS AND HOW THEY MATCH WITH TLK (The Lion King)**

OC means ORIGINAL CHARACTER _[For the n00bs xD]_

Drake = Simba

Victoria = Nala

Nick = Mheetu

James = Mufasa

Elizabeth = Sarabi

Isabelle = Sarafina

Victor = Victoria and Nicks father _(Nala and Mheetu's father) - isn't present but is mentioned-  
_

Jack (Scar) = Scar

Cole = Chumvi

Danny = Malka

Ayden = Tojo

Shayna = Tama

Alison = Kula

Aurora = OC.

Opal = Ayden's mother _(Tojo's mother) _OC;

Phil = Zazu

Riley = Timon

Evan = Pumbaa

Asaka = Rafiki

Ashton = Shenzi

Jason = Banzai

Ed = Ed xD

Thomas Archer = Cole's father; OC; _(Chumvi's dad)_

William Ashburn = OC; _Drake is descended from him._

_

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__**(I'm not even sure if a I should have a Preface and a Prologue, but I felt like I needed both ;D )**_

**Preface**

_Fair is foul and foul is fair._ Everyone must live with what they develop into… Everyone must recognize the changes that are spewing out of each individual. Not every person benefits from it, unless the alteration is superior. Though, the key to transform is to let go of the fear, and understand that life, itself, opens and closes doors each day. Existence can either be accepted or altered, if it is not accepted then it must be changed, if it cannot be changed… then it must be accepted.

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**Prologue**

(Back in the 1700's)

Charlotte Ashburn, the king's beautiful wife, paced the castle floor with worry. Her pale blonde hair tightly knotted in the back, her light green dress trailing around the floor, swaying with her swift movements. Behind every tick of the old grandfather clock, King Thaddeus became more and more restless, shifting in his seat every which way.

"I know they told me to stay put." He began and her light blue eyes scanned her husbands face, as if hoping that by a glance that she could reason with him. "But I cannot stay here while men from my side go out to battle the immortal. I am the _king_, I shall not be stuck in my own _fortress_!"

"You are here for reason." Charlotte's velvety voice soothed him for a moment, but nothing about her gestures reminded the king of comfort. "You _are_ the king, Thaddeus. You cannot go out there while this hurlyburly is going on. Your men are protecting _you_... protecting _us_." Charlotte's eyes cascaded towards the marble staircase; they both know exactly what she meant by _'us'_. Their son Garrett, he's only eight and doesn't understand what exactly had been happening around him. The royal court poke fun at the Prince saying that there isn't a lot happening in his mind and that he is, indeed, slower than usual. The royal family grows infuriated when they hear such things, but as of right now, they had larger tribulations. "Those vampires. I knew that something terrible would happen with them around. I knew they couldn't possibly control their thirst for so long!"

Everything about a vampire is sinister and very much unwelcome in the Kingdom of Ashburn. The way they have to pierce their teeth into a humans flesh and drain them dry just so they can survive is just repulsive and barbaric. They made a promise to consume off of animal blood, and in return, the king promised to keep them in the kingdom, as long as they kept their word.

"Oh surly all vampires aren't _THAT_ bad." A male stepped out from the shadows with dark auburn hair, electric blue eyes, and a crooked, sinister smile that no one could forget. The male's skin is as colorless as snow, his pure white teeth bared with a dark crimson dripping from his sharp fangs.

"William?" The king asked with wide, dark eyes, as he looked his younger brother up and down, "You- You're a vampire?"

"Clearly." He grinned and his red tongue escaped from his mouth, licking the places where the blood trickled down to his chin. Taking a few steps in, the dark haired man had his eyes fixated on the queen, humming a familiar tune in which their mother used to sing to them before going to bed, or in times of trouble and worry.

"P-Please." Charlotte started and shook her head again, the female's feet began to move backwards; her perfect hair had strands falling from the sides. "I have a child to take care of. H-He needs a mother! You couldn't do that to your own _nephew _could you?"

"Oh… Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte…" William smirked as he continued to walk over to her slowly, well, slow for the undead. "Why do you possibly think that I'm going to kill you? Hmm?" His voice sounded sweet, but the King and Queen were both waiting for the blow, "You are being quite judgmental."

"Y-You never liked me." She stated firmly and Thaddeus took a step forward to protect his wife, but William's head shot towards his older brother, which caused the king to freeze in mid step.

"Don't move, brother." He demanded in a sweet tone, "You wouldn't want me to rip your beloveds head off now would you?"

"Please…" He began, holding his hands in front of him, letting him know that peace is welcomed here. "What do you want?"

The foul grin only grew and he leaned on a piece of furniture that stood around his height. "What I want… You wont give to me." He paused and tilted his head, "That I'm sure of."

_He wants Charlotte?_ Thaddeus thought, and his dark eyes glanced over to his wife, observing how frightened she looked, giving her a sympathetic look, the king turned back to his brother, watching as the vampire walked towards her with such desire in his eyes. "You want my wife?" He asked and the vampire stood still, a small smile tugging at his lips as he turned to face the black haired king.

"Well... yes." William's voice was filled with lighthearted tones, "But not in the way _you_ are thinking, brother." A gentle laugh surpassed his reddened lips and be started towards the King, "I believe you are in charge of something I _want_." Thaddeus' dark eyes widened and he grinned, "Something I _crave_."

"You can't have my kingdom!" The king exclaimed, gaining enough bravery to take a step forward, but the vampire took one as well and Thaddeus went back to his original place, cowering away, trapped in fear.

"I can't?" He asked dryly, "I believe your life is in my hands, your _majesty_."

"Brother, why would you do this?" Exasperation took over the king's voice as he tried to reason with his younger sibling. Thaddeus hadn't observed such vile acts of his brother before, he never even saw his little brother as a murderer, but that he was. "I cannot allow you to become king! You're a monster!"

"There isn't any choice, Thaddeus." The vampire spat, "Its either I FORCEFULLY take it from you, or you hand it over adequately. Do we understand each other?"

"I can't just hand my kingdom off to a murderous raging lunatic!" The black haired man grew infuriated and his brother simply rolled his eyes, another sly smirk taking place of any irritation. "You'd destroy everything!"

"Or enhance it." The male grinned, grabbing hold of his brothers throat, "Immortality will be mine. I don't need _children_ to carry on a royal bloodline. I'll just ALWAYS be here, enslaving all your little witches and warlocks." Thaddeus struggled against his brother's impossibly strong grip, "And I'll start with your bloody wife and kid, how does that one sound?"

From behind, Charlotte, still frozen in her spot, looked over to a glass vase with beautiful roses in it, freshly picked from the garden. As the vampire continued talking to his younger brother, the Queen moved without hesitation and swiftly walked over to the table. Her petite hands grasped the antique vase and as the vampire held her husband higher into the air, she whipped it right at his head, hoping that the impact would shatter the vase and knock him out.

William froze for a moment and threw Thaddeus to the side roughly. Turning around he walked towards her at a normal pace, keeping a crooked smile on his repulsive lips, "You really are as stupid as you look." His blue eyes were fixated on the Queen's blonde hair, and within seconds, the vampire snapped her neck and began to drink her blood, as the beauty lay limp in his arms.

"NO!" The king screamed, tears streaking down his face and the vampire dropped her wilted body to the ground, brushing blood away from his mouth. "HOW COULD YOU?"

"How could I?" He asked with a small laugh walking towards the dark haired warlock, "Oh don't tell me you didn't see this coming, brother. I didn't expect YOU do be so dimwitted as well."

"YOU HAD NO REASON TO KILL HER!" William kept his cool, although his older brother went into hysteria, "YOU HAVE NO REASON TO BE HERE."

"Who's going to stop me?" He asked with a small grin, "You? Quite frankly… you have no way out and I'm _much, MUCH_ stronger." The vampire sighed sarcastically, "Choose intelligently. The kingdom…" He held up a pale hand, "Or your life." He glanced at the old grandfather clock and smiled another crooked grin, "Tick tock."

King Thaddeus found himself under great stress, but being a great warlock, he found another way out, which hopefully didn't involve death for anybody. Sticking out his olive tone hand out, the king kept his focus and beliefs strong. The vampire stood back, as if frozen and put into a trance, "I place my life to the fates, as I seal a curse upon the gates. Time may seem endless to the immortal, only allow them to see the darkness as their portal. The sun will burn you, like fire at the stake. Choose wisely, it is either wake or break." With that, the dark-reddish haired vampire began to fade and every time he tried to grab at the King, his hand went through the body.

"THADDEUS." He screamed and the king's entire body felt as if it had been shutting down. Such magic can harm a warlock if they weren't strong enough, and gaining strength meant you needed to be alive for several years, or practicing magic day and night. Only the lucky ones are able to create spells and live to see another day. Soon enough, the vampire disappeared and the dark haired man sluggishly walked into the writing room, grabbing a piece of paper and a feather with ink. Quickly, he began to write the curse down, and sealed it with a kiss.

"F-Father?" Prince Garrett stood at the door with his dark eyes wide, and he ran to his father's side immediately, as the king plummeted to the floor. A jolt of pain rippled throughout his body and he winced slightly. "What's wrong?" He asked with worry still struck in his face, but the boy's dark eyes moved to the king's hand and he tilted his head to the side. "What is that?" The light haired boy pointed towards the paper in Thaddeus's fingers and he slowly handed it to his son, closing his hands to make a fist. The paper made a crumpling sound and Garrett's eyes widened even more.

"The only one to uplift the curse must be an Ashburn… The only one to invite a vampire into this kingdom can be an Ashburn. Y-You're uncle cannot come back unless invited, even though he's an Ashburn, he's still a vicious creature and the gates under- understand that." The king said slowly. His son looked into his hand and examined the words, "This is your kingdom now, my son… hide that, make sure no one can find it."

"I will father…" Garrett frowned and soon, the king's body shut down, breathing his last dying breath. The light haired prince stood to his full height, examining the words over and over again until he had them memorized. _I must hide this…_ He thought and looked around the room he had been in. Surly the note couldn't have been out in the open, it would have to be hidden somewhere safe.

Quickly, the boy flew up the stairs; the note still clutched in hand, and ran into the attic, pulling out an antique wooden box that his grandmother had given his mother. She never used it, but it seemed like it was the perfect place to hide something so small. Gently, the prince, and now the new king, placed the note into the box, inserting it in a drawer and shoving it shut.

Not able to just leave it out in the open, he decided to find an enchantment to seal the drawer shut, so that no one down the line was able to open it. Vampires, even to the young boy, were cruel and sinister and no one should be allowed to invite them in. His father didn't want anyone to find it either, but being a warlock, you have to write a curse or spell down that you created, because no one can make up another just like it.

Finding an old spell book up on the top shelf, he swept a pale hand over it, removing any dust. _This should do the trick_, he thought, and the young king flipped through the pages, reading a sealing spell, at first in his head, then he stuck his hand out, repeating the words with much meaning. The wind blew slightly and a tear rolled from his eye and down his cheek, dripping onto the dusty dresser with a slight splash.

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**AN: **So, how was that for a Prologue? It explained the story a little more clearly as to why things are the way they will be when you read the rest of the story. In the next chapter, you will be introduced to our '**Simba**' of the story.

**Question for you: **I got the line "_Fair is foul and foul is fair"_ From **Macbeth**, I'm reading the story in school and I find it very interesting. Do you know how that ties in? Can you predict what will happen to our 'Simba' of the story... **_A.K.A Drake Ashburn_**? Read the preface again, it **gives a lot to the story.**

Again, please don't be mad at me for taking a break on **schism **right now, I just need some time off of lions, I need to focus on humans... well... somewhat humans ;)

_-Shadowlandx0  
_


	2. Circle of Life

**Circle of Life**

In the distance of the great Kingdom of Ashburn, stood the beautiful secluded castle. It's torches lit up the darkness that night had brought, and perfect green grass enclosed around it, swaying with each movement of the wind. A boy with straight, dark auburn hair and light olive skin glanced up at the castle with his amber eyes. A smile lit up his entire face as he observed the tall gray walls and the arches for windows. "Come, Drake." Queen Elizabeth called to her son and the boy looked over to her with questioning eyes. "It's getting late."

The prince nodded towards his mother before bending over to collect his baseball and running through the entrance way. The large, double French doors slammed shut and his mother waved a hand over a light bulb, which made it turn on and illuminate the space. "Thanks." He said quietly and Elizabeth put an arm around her son, giving him a gentle kiss on the head.

"Go get ready for bed, darling." Her amber eyes glanced over to a clock and she observed the time. "Your father should be home soon."

Drake watched as his mother started up the winding marble staircase and he sighed heavily, kicking off his shoes and shrugging his jacket off. A popping noise reverberated in his ears and he glanced to the left only to find Phil, the king's major domo, hovering over him. "Hello young master!" He exclaimed and Drake sighed again, feeling a speck of irritation and annoyance, "Are you excited about starting school up again tomorrow?" He grinned and the young prince didn't answer, "It's your first day back, how exciting!"

"So exciting." Drake answered in a sarcastic tone of voice. If there was one thing the Prince couldn't stand, it was going to school. The teachers disliked him, always telling him he tries to do whatever he wishes because he's royalty, the homework is ghastly and having to sit there every minute of everyday made the routine tedious and repetitive.

"Oh come on now, young master!" Phil, the fairy, exclaimed and the kid raised his eyebrows, glancing up as he flew above him, "You were off the entire summer! School is back in session. It's never going away you know, and in order to run this kingdom you must know and understand spells!"

"Yeah, yeah." Drake answered him dully and started up the winding, marble staircase, the baseball still in hand.

Phil flew ahead of him and kept that same excited grin on his small features, "It'll be fun young master, and just you wait and see! This year is going to be exciting for you." With that being said, he disappeared and something told the young prince that his mother sent the annoying fairy down here to pep him for tomorrow. This didn't matter, because nothing could excite him about such terrible things.

Finally, Drake reached the top of the stairs only to find himself face to face with a girl whom had shoulder length, thick light brown, curly hair, turquoise eyes, and ivory, clear skin. "Hey, Victoria." He smiled broadly at his best friend and he started towards her. The girl raised her eyebrows allowing her beautiful greenish blue eyes to scan his face. "Yeah I know… I was playing outside." The prince groaned and wiped the dried dirt off the side of his cheek.

"You were?" She asked with wide eyes and frowned, "Why didn't you tell me? Oh shoot, Drake… You don't have another best friend, do you?"

"Maybe." He smirked and raised an eyebrow, "What's it to yah?"

"Well I'd like to play too!" She giggled and shoved him playfully, "Wouldn't be fair if you left me hangin'!"

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, "Oh, like you haven't done that one before when you played with Shayna and Alison."

The brunette's eyes widened and she placed her hands on her hips, growing defensive. "You said you didn't want to play with a bunch of girls, so I left!" She paused and her face softened, "Besides, I invited you."

"Yeah, yeah." He teased and sat against the wall, blowing strands of dark auburn hair out of his eyes. Victoria observed this and smiled, joining her best friend against the wall.

"You need a haircut." She giggled and sat on her knees, playing with his hair. He rolled his eyes and pushed her hands off his head, not wanting anyone to touch it. "I know the _'no touchie'_ rule, but your hair is just getting so long." She paused and giggled again, "I wanna braid it!"

"No way!" He exclaimed, fixing his hair, "You aren't allowed to touch my hair anymore!"

"I never was allowed in the first place." She shot back with a knowing grin, "But I do anyway because I don't play by the rules."

"Yeah right!" Drake stated and got back to his feet looking down at her, "I'm the one who taught you _that_." He grinned broadly and clamped his hands together, placing them under his chin and heightening his voice, "YES _MOMMY_… OF **COURSE **MOMMY."

"Hey! I do not sound like that!" She replied, standing on her feet and placing her hands back on her hips, "And you aren't as bad as you might think, your royal _highness_!"

"Oh yeah?" He challenged, lowering his arms, "I bet that tomorrow I could get every teacher mad at me because of somethin' bad I did!"

"Teachers don't count." She stated dully, "You've irritated every single one of them last year and I'm sure word gets around about you so they already expect it."

"Yeah..." He grinned proudly and she rolled her eyes. "What about-"

The castle doors swung open and a familiar voice approached the young Prince's ears. "Now Opal, I don't see what the big problem is. The king said that you and the boy could stay here, what more do you want?" Drake glanced over to Victoria and she shrugged her shoulders, obvious to the conversation as well.

"That isn't the point, _Jack_." The woman snapped back, and the prince and his lovely companion crept down the stairs, watching as three figures stood in the doorway. One of them, Drake knew extremely well. That was his Uncle Scar. He had Pitch-black, wavy hair, olive skin, light green eyes, and a little scar going down his left eye. The woman whom was talking shifted her weight from one leg to the other; she had straight sandy blonde hair, pale skin and deep blue eyes. "The point is, that you weren't-" Scar held his hand up and cleared his throat. The woman raised her fair eyebrows and he shook his head, hoping that she'd understand that they would have to cut this conversation short.

"My nephew." He stated and gestured up towards Drake. The prince frowned since he and Victoria had gotten caught, and he slowly raised to his full height, his friend following suitably. "Come down here Drake, our guests won't bite… and bring your little girlfriend with you."

"Hey!" Drake yelled and started down the winding staircase, "She's not my girlfriend!" The brunette beauty followed behind him and rolled her eyes out of annoyance. The prince eyed the blonde woman who stood next to his Uncle and then eyed the boy who had been in front of his mother. He looked exactly like her, except his hair was wavy other than straight.

"Drake, I would like you to meet…" Scar began and trailed off, motioning towards the little boy. "Oh… I'm sorry, what the devil is your name again?"

"A-Ayden." The boy said timidly and Drake raised his eyebrows.

"Ah yes, now I remember." He said with a nod of his head, "Ayden Renolds, and this is his mother, Opal Renolds. She and her son will be staying in the castle as well."

"Why?" Drake asked, obviously not liking this sudden change. He liked it just the way it's always been. Him, Victoria, and sometimes Victoria's little brother, Nick, would roam around the castle with them.

"It's nice to meet you, Ayden." Victoria smiled warmly at their new guest, ignoring her friend's pessimistic attitude. "I'm Victoria Morlet."

"N-Nice to meet you." He said with a hesitant smile and Drake rolled his eyes. "Are you the prince?"

This question caught Drake off guard and his light brown eyes poured into the new comers deep blue ones, "What kind of question is that? Do you not know who I am?" He felt a nudge in his side and he glanced over to see Victoria giving him a look, telling him to _'be good'_, "I-I mean…" He said softly and looked back at Ayden, "Yeah, I'm the prince."

"It's really nice to meet you…" He replied in a mumble and Scar sighed gently.

"See? Drake's a friendly kid, they'll get along beautifully." He stated and the blonde haired woman stared at him skeptically, "Now… PHIL." The fairy came out of nowhere with another pop and he looked at Scar. "Show Opal and the kid to their rooms."

"Ah!" He exclaimed and Opal smiled, "Very nice to meet you miss! The two of you just follow me!" The fairy began to fly up the winding staircase and the two blondes started up the stairs, at first very hesitant, but once Phil kept them talking, they felt right at home.

"Uncle Scar…" Drake began, watching as they walked, "Why are they here?" His question seemed to slip past his uncle and Scar began to walk away without speaking a word, "Hey!" The prince yelled and Scar froze, turning slightly to face his nephew, "Why are they here?"

"It's none of your business." Scar snapped and Drake frowned, "You are too young to understand." With that, the tall, lanky man disappeared into the dungeon area of the castle, that's where he normally slept; he refused to stay in a room where people could actually speak with him.

Drake watched as his uncle's figure disappeared behind the dungeon door and he groaned, slightly turning to Victoria's figure. Her greenish blue eyes were still looking up at the winding staircase, as if to see if Ayden would come down the stairs and join them, "Give it a rest." Drake said through his teeth and Victoria raised her eyebrows, looking over to him, "He isn't playing with us."

"Says who?" Victoria asked, crossing her arms and the Prince glared up at her, "You're not the boss of me! I can hang out with the new kid if I wanna!"

"FINE." Drake snapped back and the girl smiled, "Then I guess we aren't friends!"

Her jaw dropped and her eyes stared into his, a hurt feeling washing through her body, "F-FINE!" The brunette spun around on her heals, walking up the stairs and most likely going straight to her room. The prince frowned and leaned against the banister. What had he just done? Victoria was his best friend and he got angry because she thought about playing with someone else? _Oh well, she's wrong_. Drake thought with a roll of his eyes.

"FINE!" He yelled again but someone walked through the door and Drake spun around quickly to see who it had been. There stood a tall man, with a muscular build, dark auburn, wavy hair, dark brown eyes and light olive skin. "Dad!" The boy exclaimed and ran over to his father who glanced up only to see his son's excited face.

"Ah, Drake my boy." The king smiled and held his arms out watching as his son ran into them. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" His dark eyes examined his son's face, "Shouldn't you have taken a shower?"

"Yeah…" Drake said softly and frowned, "But I was talkin' with Victoria and then we met some kid who says he's gonna live here! Please… say it's not _true_."

"You met Ayden?" James asked with wide eyes and the prince crossed his arms over his chest, frowning, allowing a firm nod to escape, "Why do you not like him? He seems like a nice boy. His mother is wonderful."

"Daaaad…" Drake complained and James' eyebrows rose, "Why does he have to stay _here_? Why can't you find him a house somewhere else… anywhere but HERE is fine by me!"

"Now, Drake." James said sternly and the prince looked up at him with sad eyes, "I didn't ask you if you were ok with it, and honestly, I don't realize why he can't stay here. He won't be in the way."

"Yes he will!" Drake complained and James shook his head, starting up the marble staircase, "He'll always be in the way and you know it! He already took Victoria from me!" The King stopped in mid step and glanced back at his son, raising his eyebrows, "I mean… We're not friends anymore… She wants to hang out with him and I-"

"Well, learn from your friend, my son." James interrupted and Drake glared up at his father, "She may actually teach you something… Which is to be selfless and allow the kid to play with you. According to his mother he has no friends, no father… At least try and be nice to him, he's had a rough childhood so far. Be the one to make it better for him." Drake grumbled under his breath and James smiled down at the young prince, "Think about it… The next king of Ashburn helped a boy in need of a friend. That'll really make people love you."

"Uncle Scar says it's better to make people fear you." Drake said distantly and the king's eye's widened and he looked down at his son in shock, "He says it's better to be feared than loved."

James shifted his eyes to the left towards the dungeon entrance, unable to see his younger brother eavesdropping on the conversation. "You're uncle would rather have it that way, but I believe there should be a balance... Just like there should be a balance and an equal opportunity between people."

"Dad..." Drake said softly and James tilted his head to the side, "What happened to Ayden's dad?"

The question took the king by surprise and he sighed gently, "He's... He's dead, Drake. He died a long time ago." The prince's eyes widened and his father nodded, "Just like Victoria's father... We have a weak spot for people in these kind of situations."

The kid's frown only deepened and he started up the stairs, and stood next to his dad, "I just don't understand why we have to grow old and die. Can't we just live forever?" The king smiled and patted his son's head.

"There are those who do live forever, my son." He answered, though his dark eyes looked sympathetic, "I feel sorry for them."

"Why?" Drake asked, a sense of confusion washing over him.

"When you live forever, you see many deaths, mainly the ones you love, and that can cause bitterness or even cause one to have a cynical attitude towards human life." James paused and found a dark, yet clean, bench to sit on, "This is why I believe vampires are monstrous and vicious creatures. They watch all their loved ones die, and they continuously just exist, following with the trends around them." Drake's eyes widened and James nodded his dark auburn head, the waves falling into place with each movement, "The immortal are jealous types, Drake. Though they will not admit it, they miss human life more than anyone could ever imagine, and that is why I feel so sympathetic towards them. They cannot change who they are."

"I've never seen a vampire." Drake said with interest shining in his eyes, "Why aren't any around here?"

"A long time ago, vampires lived here, but they went on a killing spree, murdering half the kingdom. Our ancestor, _Thaddeus _Ashburn, banished all the vampires and sealed this banishment with a curse. They cannot get in here, only an Ashburn can invite one in…" Drake's eyes widened again with excitement and James shook his head, "No son, they are evil and vicious creatures. People in the Ashburn kingdom hate them, they're looked down upon and any vampire who says they're different are liars." The king paused and took a deep breath, exhaling just as quickly, "They are all the same. Do not let them in." Drake nodded his head, though, James felt like he didn't get his point across very well, "It may be the last thing you ever do." The king ran his pointer finger across his throat, hoping to get his point across.

A shiver ran up the young prince's spine and he shook his head, "B-But how could I let one in anyway?" All of this seemed so confusing to Drake, "I-I've never seen one."

It took James a moment to answer, he was quite hesitant about it and figured that telling someone who was much like himself as a child isn't such a great idea, "I don't know." He lied and Drake frowned, "But I want you to promise me something." The prince nodded and James grinned, "Two promises actually." Drake nodded again, feeling very impatient and he wanted to know what these statements were and what exactly he was going to promise to. "When you hear where the vampires are. Don't go."

"No problem." The prince grinned and James held up his hand before the kid escaped.

"Promise me that you'll show Ayden around tomorrow." James said quickly and Drake's mouth dropped and he automatically began shaking his dark auburn head. "Please, Drake... Be nice to him."

"What? NO WAY." The prince groaned and James shook his head. "Dad, seriously! I have a reputation at school! I can't just let this new kid into th-"

"Drake, please." James said sternly, though it sounded pleading... He never heard his father speak like this to him before, "You have to help me out a little."

The prince stared at his father with unconcerned, amber eyes, though a twinge of guilt washed through him, "Yeah... Yeah, fine." He stated and the king lowered his face, kissing his son's head.

"Very good... Now shower, and get to bed." James smiled and they walked up the stairs together, one more happier than the other.

* * *

As the footsteps faded up the stairs, Scar stood around the corner in the dungeon, listening to their conversation. Though, he knew that James would look and see if he were spying on everything that they were talking about, so he stood further around the corner, careful that his shadow didn't illuminate and give away his hiding spot. A sly smirk pulled on his lips... this was wonderful news. His great diabolical plan was unfolding perfectly, and it was all thanks to James. Not telling his son about the sealed gate was truly the biggest mistake he ever could have made, because now it's in Scar's hands to tell him, and he could easily not bring up the word vampire in their little conversation.

With a growing grin, Scar made his way down the long, dusty dungeon, touching the walls around him, as if he took a drug of ecstasy, "Oh James..." He said lightly and stopped, taking in a musty scent from the dungeon, "You really are going to regret this."

* * *

**AN:** Well, what did you think of this chapter? I know... Nothing is too interesting yet, but it's getting there. Remember, a book usually doesn't get better until like... page 50! :P

BY THE WAY! Did I get the Simba and Nala traits down? I feel like Scar is fine... but I was having some trouble putting them into human characters for some reason, let me know how it was.

Well, **four or five more reviews **and I'll update _A.S.A.P._ If people don't reviewwww... and you wanna read more... then I suggest you tell people about it ;) Don't worry, I'll do the same for your stories. I always return the favor.

**-Shadowlandx0**


	3. Secrets, secrets are no fun

**AN:** I'm glad you guys like it so far (:

**Nala-Nay**, yes, Scar is Scar in the story, his former name is Jack and somehow Opal knew that... _hmmm_, and his back story is coming up soon. Drake, Victoria and Ayden are ten or eleven years of age. **AND** yes, Drake is sort of descended from William Ashburn, his brother Thaddeus is whom he is truly descended from because his son Garrett took the throne, but William is apart of that family as well seeing that is Thaddeus's little brother. So yeah, he's descended from an evil vampire XD

* * *

**Secrets, secrets are no fun**

Trudging through the long strands of green grass, Drake Ashburn took the lead of the three while walking to school, though there was silence all around them and it was slightly uncomfortable. Glancing back, Drake's amber eyes caught glimpse of Ayden whose deep blue eyes were staring at the ground, he seemed to be deep in thought though, something told the young prince that he was intensely hurt about something.

Right on cue, Ayden's blond head lifted and his deep blue eyes poured into Drake's, and he gave him a minor smile, hoping to make peace. The prince rolled his eyes and turned his face around, looking at how much further they needed to walk to get to his _favorite_ place. _School_. His father's voice appeared in his head, though he tried to shake it away, mainly because he didn't want to be friends with someone who was so quiet and who will get in the way around the castle.

A strange noise approached the prince's ears and he glanced to the side only to find Cole Archer and Danny Ruther. Cole had black, cropped hair, dark olive skin, and dark brown eyes, while Danny had ivory skin, sandy brown hair and light brown eyes. They were both somewhat taller than the Prince, but both boys came up on both of his sides, ignoring Victoria and Ayden. "What's with the follower?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow, though, he kept his voice simple and soft.

"I'll tell you later." Drake groaned and Cole looked back, looking the new comer up and down with disgust on his features.

* * *

Once arriving at school, Drake and the other two stopped on the gravel, and the prince hoped that he could tell them a few things about what happened last night before the bell rang. Victoria pushed past Drake and he rolled his eyes, watching her go over to Shayna and Alison, whom he never really liked all that much.

The girls giggled once Victoria made her way over to them, but immediately stopped once they saw how angry she was. "What happened?" Alison asked, flipping her chestnut brown hair out of the way, her dark eyes fixating on her friend, "You look super mad!"

"Drake's just STUPID that's all." Victoria stated boldly, pulling her backpack off and setting it next to her until they moved inside the building. Once her turquise eyes looked at the two girls in front of her, she noticed their confused expressions and she turned around only to find Ayden standing behind her, "Ayden?" She asked with a perfectly raised eyebrow.

"S-Sorry…" He sounded nervous and Victoria frowned, "I-I just don't know where anything is. Before we left, King James told me to ask Drake where everything is, but… but I know he doesn't want to talk to me and-"

"Ayden." Victoria interrupted him from his rambling, but a smile replaced the new founded frown, "What's your first class?"

The blond glanced down at the little paper in his hands and read the words, "Summoning." He stated and glanced up at the beautiful girl, "That's my first class."

The girl raised her eyebrow and grabbed the schedule from his hands, reading his first class carefully, than looked down at the rest of them. If she wasn't mistaken, the brunette could have sworn that Drake and Ayden either had the same schedule or similar ones. "Erm, I hate to tell yah this, Ayden, but… I think you and Prince Charming over their have the same classes." Ayden's blue eyes widened and he glanced over to Drake who seemed to be in deep conversation with the other boys. "You'll have to ask him…"

"I-I really don't want to, Victoria." He stated hesitantly while looking back at her, "He's mean to me… a-and he doesn't like me very much."

Victoria opened her mouth to speak, but another voice approached Ayden's ears, "Um, excuse me!" Shayna called and Victoria's eyebrows scrunched together as she glanced behind her, "Who is this?"

"This is Ayden Renolds." The brunette stated with a slight smile, "He's staying at the castle." The two girls looked at him with smiles and they both shot on both sides of the new kid.

"You seem really cool." Shayna grinned, flipping her long pale blonde hair out of the way, and Ayden raised his eyebrows, "Don't worry about what Drake says, he thinks everyone loves him, but really not a lot of people do."

"Actually…" Alison started and Shayna's eyes shot over to her other friend, "Everyone loves him… He's the Prince. They suck up to him, but he only really hangs out with Danny, Cole and…" She glanced over to Victoria, but she rolled her eyes out of frustration, "Yup, just those two."

"B-but aren't you friends with him?" Ayden asked, looking over to Victoria. She shook her head, and crossed her arms over her chest, glancing over to Drake and the boys.

"No…" She stated firmly, "Not anymore."

* * *

"Seriously?" Cole asked after Drake told his story about what happened last night, "So this kid just walks in like he owns the place, huh?"

"Well no…" Drake stated and leaned against the banister, "He's really quiet, but the thing is, I don't even know why he's here!" Anger bubbled through the young prince and Cole and Danny watched him while thinking deeply, "Why did my dad let him stay here? This isn't fair! He's gonna end up taking everything from me all because he's the_ 'GOOD CHILD'_."

"How do you know he's so good?" Danny asked with a shrug, "He could be just like us, except he's too shy right now. I bet we can help him ou-"

"Danny, please… get real." Cole started and Danny glared over to his friend, "Don't you see? Not just anyone could stay at the castle! He's important…"

"But why?" Drake asked, confusion taking over his features, "Victoria isn't important and she stays at the castle."

There was silence around the three boys and Cold snapped his dark olive fingers, "Maybe she is!" Drake and Danny looked at one another, but quickly their attention was stolen by Cole again, "Think about it, Drake… Your parents are hiding something from you!"

_Like what?_ Drake thought and frowned deeply, mainly because he hated **secrets**… especially when they're kept from HIM. "Better be careful, Drake." Danny teased and the prince glanced over to his friend as he nudged him, "The new kid might be stealing your place as king."

_WHAT?_ Drake thought and he scowled over to the blond boy who stood by Victoria, Shayna, and Alison. _That is NOT happening._

To the Prince's horror, Ayden broke away from the girls and started to make his way over to Drake's little group. His jaw dropped and quickly he turned around to face his friends, "C'mon… Let's go over-"

"Drake…" The boy's tone was soft and Danny and Cole tried to hide their smiles, "Can you help me with something…"

"If you want me to tie your shoe, then your out of luck, because I don't-" The prince began, but Ayden surprisingly cut him off.

"No!" He exclaimed and the boys behind Drake started laughing, "Victoria told me to come to you, she says we have similar classes."

Drake's amber eyes widened and he grabbed the white paper from his hand, reading through the schedule, "You have GOT to be kidding me!" Drake sneered and shoved the paper back in the boy's hands. "He did this on purpose!"

"What's going on?" Danny asked with wide eyes and Ayden hung his head. "Uh… Hey, don't worry about it… Drake's just-"

"SHUT UP, DANNY." Drake yelled and Cole started laughing, "Yeah, you have every right to be upset! You're ruining MY LIFE."

"WHAT DID I DO?" Ayden shouted back, tears dripping down his face and Drake rolled his eyes.

"YOU CAME HERE." He stated loudly, "Now my dad wants me to be your best friend? No! It's not happening!" The bell rang and all the students, aside from Drake, Cole, Danny and Ayden swarmed over to the door.

"Drake, we're gonna be late." Danny observed, while moving towards the door. He glanced back only to find Cole, Drake and Ayden remaining put, "Are you guys coming or what?"

"Yeah." Drake answered coolly, while staring Ayden down, "We're coming." With that, he shrugged his backpack on again and he and Cole met up with Danny, Ayden lagging behind the three boys as they entered school.

"Ah, good morning, boys." One of the teachers said happily as she passed them in the hallway. She had Drake as a student last year and he knew she was being fake with them, it was obvious of her hatred of him, "Have a wonderful summer?"

"Yes, ma'am." Cole replied and the woman nodded her head with a smile.

"That's good!" She stated and looked behind to see Ayden with tears in his eyes, "Oh! Honey, are you alright?" Drake glanced behind him only to find the blonde boy crying his eyes out, and a twinge of guilt washed through him, but he pushed it away again.

"I-I'm fine." He lied and shook his head, "I'm just scared about coming to a new school… that's all." The prince raised his eyebrows out of surprise, he was sure that he would have ratted him out, especially after that whole scenario outside.

"There is nothing to be afraid of, little one." She said happily and gave him a small hug, "Why, I'm sure these boys would like to be your friend, right Mr. Ashburn?"

Drake didn't have to look at his friends in order to know they were staring at him, he could even feel Cole's stare on the back of his head, burning patches into his hair, "Of course, Ms. Krindle."

"Very good." She replied and pushed Ayden gently, telling him it was ok for him to join the boys, "Are you going to finally behave this year?"

Drake grinned and put his right hand over his heart, "I'll try my best." He said sarcastically and the teacher rolled her eyes, deciding to ignore him and walking away, over to another crowd of students. Ayden frowned deeply and began walking, though, Drake realized that the blond wouldn't know where he was going, he went to a completely different school.

"C'mon, Drake." Cole urged him, but the prince shook his head.

"I have Summoning first, guys… So I'll just see ya later." He stated and Cole nodded his head, motioning for Danny to follow him. Once Drake was clear and the two boys walked around the corner, Drake followed Ayden down the empty corridor. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"No." Ayden admitted with a frown, and the Prince was surprised he was still talking to him, "That's what I wanted help with."

"Right…" He said coldly and the prince sighed heavily, "Look, I'll show you to all your classes, but just… try and stay out of my hair."

Ayden leaned against the wall, his blue eyes looking down at the ground, "I don't get what I did to you…" His voice was soft and Drake rolled his eyes again, deciding to look up at the ceiling, "You don't even know me and you hate me."

"I don't _hate_ you!" Drake shouted and Ayden glanced over to him with tears in his eyes again, "I mean… Hate is a strong word… At least that's what my dad says." The frown only deepened and Drake bit his lip lightly, "We're gonna be late… and if you want my help, you should take it before I change my mind."

"If you ha- dislike me so much, then you don't have to help me." Ayden declared, finding his voice and using it against the prince, "I'll find someone else… I'm sure Victoria wont min-"

"Victoria WILL mind because she has no classes with us except for white magic!" Drake stated firmly_. Yeesh, this kid already thinks he knows Victoria! _Drake thought cynically and Ayden nodded, and then Drake added this last line softly and it was something he wished he never said, "Look… I'm _sorry_." Ayden's eyes widened and he looked at the prince with such shock that Drake started chuckling softly, "You're not… so bad…." He admitted, though it still killed him.

"Thanks…" Ayden said skeptically and Drake nodded, while motioning for him to follow him. The bell rang as the blond boy walked over to the prince and both their eyes widened, "We're in trouble, aren't we?"

"I don't know about YOU." Drake stated and rolled his eyes for the fifth time that day, "But I am… wow, detention on the first day…" He grinned and looked over to Ayden, "That's a record." The blond boy smiled and they walked off to class.

* * *

Elizabeth glanced around the castle and caught sight of Isabelle, a woman with short, light brown hair, green eyes, ivory skin and freckles, walking out of a Nick's room, carrying a wet rag and thermometer. The queen opened her mouth to question it, but Isabelle shook her head, "Nick's sick with the flu, I'm not even sure how it happened. We just got off summer break."

"You think he's faking it?" Elizabeth asked with a skeptical look in her eyes, but the woman with the short brown hair shook her head. "I mean… We both know how much Nick loves school… Almost as much as Drake does."

"I'm surprised Drake didn't say anything to you about not wanting to go today." Isabelle smiled, and the queen nodded her head in agreement.

"Maybe he's getting older." She suggested, "Hopefully, he wont get into too much trouble this year, I don't know how we can keep grounding him and bailing him out of things."

"Want my advice?" Isabelle asked and the queen nodded her head, "Don't bail him out next time, make him suffer… I know it's hard, but he needs to learn. I make Nick do it all the time."

"Does he learn?" Elizabeth asked with a grin and this question took Isabelle a moment to answer, they walked down the long hallway and she finally put the wet rag over the skin and sighed heavily.

"Sometimes." She admitted, "He doesn't want to get grounded and sometimes he thinks before he does things now, but other times he just doesn't care…. And that's when I have to correct him." Elizabeth frowned deeply and Isabelle put her arm around her friend comfortingly, "Drake's a good kid, Liz… If he pulls pranks at school…so what! We both know that James was the same exact way and look what kind of man he turned out to be."

"Oh…" The queen said softly, "I know… I just worry, you know it's my job." She smiled softly and Isabelle laughed, "You're right, I shouldn't worry… besides, what trouble could he possibly get into today?"

* * *

"DETENTION." Mr. Harris shouted as Drake stood in front of his desk and Ayden sat down in an empty seat. Mr. Harris was a balding, old man who, according to Cole, stays home all day and watches T.V. by himself. Drake glared at the teacher and the class all erupted into a fit of laughter. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" He asked, peering behind the prince, "Do you all want to join him?" The entire class froze and stopped immediately, causing him to return back to his position and glaring up at Drake, "After school, my office… Be prepared to write, Mister Ashburn."

"Are you kidding?" Drake asked with wide eyes, "It's the first day of school!"

"I've had you once already." The teacher stated with a slight shiver, "Hopefully, I wont have you ever again, but you will learn how to behave in this classroom!"

"I told you." Drake said through his teeth and glared, as the teacher remained seated, "I was HELPING the new kid out."

Mr. Harris glanced up at Drake and a little chuckle escaped his lips, "You expect me to believe that you were actually helping someone?" The prince crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his teacher, "Sit down before I give you one for the entire week."

The prince couldn't take his as an answer and he continued to talk, but was quickly cut off by the old, balding, man. "Are you-"

"YES." He shouted causing Drake to jump, "I am quite serious."

With that being said, the teacher got to his feet and walked over to the board, leaving Drake at his desk, looking dumbfounded. Some days, Drake was able to talk his way out of detention, but now with Mr. Harris being his teacher, it was going to be hard for him to get away with anything.

With a growl of frustration, Drake grabbed the little pink slip off his desk, allowing it to crumble up in his hand, and avoiding the constant staring as he sat down next to Ayden. "Now that we aren't interrupted anymore, who would like to tell me what one of the-" The teacher went on and on and finally, Drake turned and looked at Ayden, who took notes like an expert. The prince raised his eyebrows and glanced down at the paper.

"Hey…" Drake whispered, pulling both of their attentions away from the little white paper, "Don't tell my parents about this, ok?" Ayden raised his eyebrows; "They'll kill me for getting a detention on the first day…"

"I can always say I did this to you… you know… if they ask." Ayden suggested in a small voice but Drake shook his head, allowing a smile to play across his lips.

"No, they wont believe it." He stated firmly and Ayden gave him a questioning look, "Uh… Lets just say I'm not the best student around."

"MISTER ASHBURN." The teacher yelled and Drake jumped in his seat, turning his head to face the old man, "You have a terrible reputation of disrupting my class in the past, and you are doing it now." _Let me guess_… Drake thought, _DETENTION FOR THE WEEK._ His mind mocked Mr. Harris's voice perfectly, it almost made a smile tug on his lips, "If you keep this going, I will give you detention for the rest of the week, UNDERSTOOD?" A crooked grin went right to his lips, he couldn't help himself, he just knew this teacher all too well, "That's it. I've had enough here."

"No, I-I'm sorry!" Drake exclaimed jumping to his feet and watching as the teacher went over to his desk, pulling out a red slip. _Oh no…_ Drake thought and his eyes widened. "Mister Harris, come on!" The prince exclaimed, "It's the first day of school! Gimme a break!"

"All I did was give you breaks last year and the year before that." Mr. Harris stated while writing in ink, "Everyday for the rest of the week, you will clean the classrooms and write about what you did wrong." The prince glared at his teacher, "And you will get this signed by your parents… and yes, this includes getting up early on a weekend and being here." He grinned a rather repulsive grin while walking over to Drake's seat, "Oh, how I love POWER." Drake rolled his eyes and the teacher slapped the little red slip down on the desk. The prince looked down at it and found himself wanting to rip it up and throw it right in his teachers face, but he decided not to go for being expelled too.

The bell rang earlier than expected and the teachers all flew from their seats as Mr. Harris tried yelling over them that they all had homework to do. Ayden quickly wrote down the page numbers, Drake didn't even bother. "Oh and Mister Ashburn." The teacher said and the prince turned around with a rather cynical look on his face, "I'll see you later." With that, he spun to face the wall on his spinning chair and Drake shoved his way out of the classroom, where Ayden followed behind him.

"He really is being unfair." Ayden stated and Drake glared over to the blond boy.

"Are you as dumb as you look?" The prince asked, while looking at Ayden's blond hair, though he was only teasing. "Of course he isn't being _fair_. He hates me and no matter what I do, he'll give me a detention for it." Cole and Danny arrived next to the prince and Victoria, Shayna and Alison were even seen in the hallway, talking to one another. "Drake… you're breathing… DETENTION!" He mocked his teachers voice and the others around him started laughing. "Drake, your shoes untied… _DETENTION_." Cole shook his head and continued to laugh, this time causing Victoria to look over to their little group. Drake stood on a bench so others would be able to see him, "Drake, you're gonna become king one day? Oh that's nice… _**DETENTION**_." While grabbing enough attention and laughs, the prince leaped off the bench and tossed the pink and red slip into the garbage, "That's what I think of your stupid detentions!"

"You seriously got detention on the first day?" Danny asked with a small grin and Drake glanced over to Ayden.

"You wanna tell the story or should I?" He asked and Ayden laughed, motioning for him to tell it, "Well I-"

"Drake…" A girls voice entered his ears and the prince glanced over to a girl with light brown hair and familiar turquoise eyes, "Wanna talk?"

"Oh I don't know… I can't be late for class. I wouldn't want another dentition… I've already got enough for a lifetime." Drake answered and Ayden started chuckling, and the prince shot him a grin. "Yeah, we can talk."

"Oh, Drake's gotta talk to his girlfriend." Cole teased and Drake shoved his friend away, walking over to Victoria and leaned against the wall as the others briskly walked to their new class. Ayden waited for Drake, but decided not to eavesdrop on their conversation, so he found himself interested with some painting on the wall.

"What?" Drake asked and Victoria rolled her eyes.

"What do you mean _WHAT_?" She asked bitterly and he sighed gently, trying to put his best foot forward.

"Alright…" He said slowly, "I'm sorry about saying we couldn't be friends." All of this saying sorry was killing him, but he had to do it. "I was wrong… Ayden's pretty cool." Victoria smiled and nodded her head.

"See?" She asked teasingly, "Was that so hard? It didn't kill you did it?" She tilted her head to the side, "Catch a fever?"

"Smart alec!" He grinned and motioned for her to follow him, as the three walked to class together.

* * *

**AN:** I had a teacher like that once -_- It was not fun LMAO.

Anyone notice the line where Drake tells Ayden: _"Are you as dumb as you look?" The prince asked, while looking at Ayden's blond hair, though he was only teasing. _**Remind you of anyone?**

So how did you like this chapter? Personally, I enjoyed writing it. Drake's a little troublemaker, although he wasn't even being bad, his teacher just dislikes him because of the previous years he's had Drake.

Now that the story's cookin, it'll be so much more fun to write haha. :) **REVIEWWWWWW.**


	4. Lies in plain sight

**Lies in plain sight**

The day, after the first class, went by fast for the young Prince. The teachers in his other courses seemed nice and whenever he saw a fresh face, a sigh of relief washed through him.

Drake and Ayden walked through the hallway and a group of boys were standing around, goofing off, and having a good time, "Detention on the first day, huh Ashburn?" One of them asked with a cheeky grin and the Prince smirked over at them, trying to keep his reputation up, though, before he could answer he saw confusion spread throughout everyone's face, "Who's that?" The boy motioned towards the blond who stood next to Drake and he glanced to the side, as if forgetting he was walking with someone.

"This is Ayden." The prince said boldly while motioning towards him, "He lives at the castle." Everyone exchanged looks, they were probably wondering as to why the kid would be staying there in the first place, but before Drake could open his mouth and continue talking with the boys, Mr. Harris walked out of his office. "Perfect." Drake muttered as the old man made his way over to the troublemaker.

"Oh… Good luck, D." One of the boys hollered, while running towards the door. His group followed, instantly after catching a glimpse of a fuming Mr. Harris, each of them saying something in hopes that the prince would live to see tomorrow.

"Ah, getting ready for detention, Mister Ashburn?" The teacher asked while stopping in front of the prince and his new friend. His black eyes observed the backpack on Drakes shoulders and he raised his eyebrows, "Not thinking of going home now, are you?"

"Course not." Drake answered coolly and the teacher grinned down at him, feeling accomplished and confident.

"Good." He stated boldly and cocked his head to the side, "And what a shame… Baseball tryouts are today." The prince's eyes widened and hatred bubbled inside of him as the teacher began walking away, "Oh well, you should have thought about that earlier."

"W-Wait!" Ayden spoke up and Drake shoved the kid to be quiet. Once the teacher turned around to face them again, he raised his eyebrows while looking at the blond.

"Yes?" He asked arrogantly, and Ayden gave the prince a questioning look, wondering why he wanted him to be silent.

"Nothing." Drake stated firmly, "He had a question about some of the rules that apply here, but don't worry, I'll let him know how things work around here." A small chuckle escaped the teacher's lips and he shook his head while turning around.

"Mister Renolds, if you follow what he tells you, you'll be in the same exact boat as he is." He replied as he walked closer to the faculty room, probably hoping to come across something to eat before having to face detention with the prince, "Ah." He observed, seeing Victoria walking towards them, "Now here is someone you should have explain the rules of the school to you. Good afternoon, Miss Morlet." She nodded her head and once he disappeared into the room, she rolled her beautiful eyes, joining her friends.

"Ok… Here's the plan." Drake whispered and Victoria and Ayden glanced at one another, "Yes… There is a plan!"

"A plan about what, Drake?" Victoria asked with her perfectly shaped eyebrows raised. The prince stared at her with doubtfulness, waiting for her to catch on. "You aren't planning on lying to your parents about your detention are you?"

"Ding, ding, ding!" He stated sarcastically and she crossed her arms over her chest, "C'mon Victoria… I wont see the light of day ever again! I need for you guys to say I stayed after for baseball try outs."

"Well, what if they notice you didn't make the team?" She quickly asked and Drake rolled his eyes, "You and I both know how good you are at the game!"

"Please…" Drake pleaded, giving her a persuasive stare, "And if they catch me, I'll say the lying was all my idea." The brunette stared at her friend for a moment, but sighed gently, giving her head one quick nod, "Thank you!"

"You owe me." She grinned and looked over to Ayden, silently telling him that they needed to get going before their parents grew suspicious. He nodded and they both smiled at Drake, seeing him off as they walked down the hallway and out the doors, walking right into the bright world, while Drake had to stay in his own personal hell and miss tryouts.

"This getting in trouble stuff isn't even worth it." He groaned, leaning against a wall and watching as groups of students passed by, completely ignoring him as they remained in deep conversation. That's exactly how he wanted it; he couldn't take the attention when he seemed so vulnerable over something.

Mr. Harris wasn't being fair. Normally, teachers give their students a break on the first day, but he was all for the discipline and torment that was soon to come to the young prince… The question is, how on earth is he going to sneak staying all week and over the weekend to his parents? Questions formed in his young mind, but he retrieved no answers… "Drake…" Danny's voice approached his ears and he looked to see them both standing in front of him, Danny waving his hand in front of his face. "C'mon… Let's go."

With a simple shake of his head, he needed to come back down to earth, but he realized what his friend had just said and he raised his eyebrows, "Go?"

"To baseball tryouts…" Cole said this time in a slower manner and Drake groaned, not wanting to hear about the stupid tryouts anymore.

"I can't go." He said quietly, a feeling of distress forming over him, "I have to serve detention with my _favorite_ teacher."

"Serve detention?" Cole asked in a dumbfounded way. Drake nodded his head, he was sure that Cole had heard his little rant just after the first class of the day and how he mocked his teacher, "You can't serve it today! Serve it tomorrow… dude, we need to be on the team!"

"Well, I'm sure there's tryouts tomorrow." Danny suggested with a simple shrug of his shoulders and Drake sighed heavily.

"You don't understand." He groaned, "I have detention all week, _including_ weekends."

"How the HECK did you end up with that much on the first day?" Danny asked, his eyes growing wide. Cole, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and smacked the wall with his hand.

"Forget about it today!" He exclaimed, "Go to tryouts, get on the team and then worry about the stupid detentions later!" Drake's amber eyes fixated on the ground for a moment as he went deep into thought about Cole's fantastic idea. "Come on!" The kid urged while nudging his upset friend, "Detentions will come and go but this opportunity is once in a life time… well, at least for this year." Taking that into much consideration, the prince nodded his head and a smirk pulled across his lips, forming into a crooked smile.

"Let's go." He confirmed and Danny and Cole both grinned, "Forget Harris!"

* * *

"Do you think Queen Elizabeth is going to buy it, Victoria?" Ayden asked as they both walked through the tall grass to get back to the beautiful castle. "I mean… She seems pretty on it."

"She might believe it for today." Victoria stated and then shook her head, "But after the week goes by she'll definitely know something's up, and when he has to serve it during the weekends… Boy is she gonna know."

"We wont get into trouble though, will we?" The blond boy asked with a deep frown and Victoria's eyebrows rose, "I mean… She wont kick my mom and I out, right? W-we have no where to go and my mom l-"

"Ayden!" She giggled, interrupting his rambling and he smiled over to her, "Don't worry about it. We aren't getting into trouble for anything, this is all Drake's fault." With a simple laugh from Victoria, Ayden's eyes examined the brunettes face skeptically, "He's always doing something to make her mad, let me tell yah. You better get used to it."

"Are you used to it?" Ayden asked and Victoria nodded firmly, "He seems nicer now… You know… now that I've actually talked to him. He doesn't seem to hate me as much."

"He will if you don't follow through on this." She replied and heard a popping noise over head. This caused her and young Ayden to jump, and they both glanced over to find Phil flying overhead, using his finger to count how many people were here.

"One… Two…" He counted and looked around frantically, "W-WHERE'S THE THIRD ONE? WHERE'S MASTER DRAKE?"

"Baseball tryouts." Victoria answered quickly and this grabbed the fairy's attention. He stared down at her skeptically, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Excuse me, missy!" He snapped and Victoria's eyes widened, "But the young master said nothing of the sort when speaking to his parents before leaving the castle this morning!" There was a slight pause and Ayden remained quiet through this, unsure of what to say to the tiny fairy who caught on quite quickly, "Now. Tell me what really is happening."

"I already told you." Victoria said through her teeth and glaring up at him, "He's at baseball tryouts!" Once the fairy opened his mouth to talk, the brunette cut him off, "And he didn't say anything because he was reminded at school by Cole and Danny!" This left the fairy speechless and Ayden watched Victoria as she lied right through her teeth, "So, don't tell me that I'm lying, because I'm not!"

Again, an awkward silence penetrated the air, and Victoria kept her stance, becoming slightly stubborn with this entire position. "If you say so." Phil finally spoke, feeling defeated. "Let's get a move on, you two." He stated firmly and Victoria groaned while walking faster towards the castle, growing extremely impatient with this entire situation. Phil, the fairy, was never her favorite creature, but she had to deal with him mainly because she lived there as well, though, her and Drake would always pull pranks on him whenever boredom took its toll on them both.

Ayden jogged next to her, trying to keep up and the fairy pushed his wings faster, his deep blue eyes caught glimpse of her greenish blue ones, and they both sighed with relief, knowing that had gotten past round one, but Victoria knew that getting past round two was going to be somewhat of a difficult task.

* * *

While walking through the castle doors, Phil left them with a tiny pop, probably going to let the King and Queen know of Drake's absence, also he was probably telling their parents that the children were home safe.

Victoria allowed her backpack to drop to the marble floor, watching as Ayden held onto his longer. She raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by Isabelle, Queen Elizabeth, King James, and Opal as they walked down the spiral staircase. "How was your first day?" Opal asked her son as she flew over to him, wrapping her arms around his small body. He smiled and hugged her back gently while nodding his head.

"It was good, Drake and I are pretty good friends." He stated with a smile and Victoria nodded her head as Opal looked over to her in disbelief. "He showed me to all my classes and everyone seems nice."

"Good!" Opal exclaimed, "I'm so glad."

"How about you?" Isabelle asked with a grin as she leaned on the banister, "You had to have had a much better day than me." She shivered while thinking of Nick throwing up beside her, into the garbage can.

"My day was fine." Victoria said with a slight nod, happy that Drake's parents weren't asking any questions, "But I couldn't wait to just get home. You know how I am with school." Isabelle smiled and nodded her head, "But… Drake was really excited about baseball tryouts. You shoulda seen him!"

"Yeah, I think he's gonna do really well." Ayden said softly, "Victoria told me that he plays like a champ!"

"That he does." King James replied with a smile, while placing his arm around Elizabeth. "I know he'll make it." Ayden and Victoria glanced at one another with unsure eyes, but they both nodded towards the king and queen with enthusiastic nods.

"Well, I-I need to finish some homework." Victoria stated while picking her bag from off the ground and heading up the stairs, "I'll be back later, Ayden, come with me."

"Ok." He answered and shot up after her, ignoring the suspicious stares that now approached the both of them. _This is going to be a long day_, Victoria thought with a slight shake of her head.

* * *

Scar moved swiftly through the thick forest, but finally caught glimpse of three wolf shapeshifters standing around, though, they were all in their human forms. "Bout time." One of them commented as Scar approached, "We thought you'd never show."

"Men." The lanky man stated while staring down each individual wolf, "A full moon is approaching…" He touched the scar on the left side of his face and a sinister smile pulled on his lips.

"And?" Ashton asked, while standing in the middle of the three. Scar growled, growing extremely impatient due to their stupidity.

"AND… THAT MEANS OUR TIME IS _COMING_." He exploded, watching as all three of them winced and flinched, "Us WOLVES will concur and I…" He grinned smugly; looking off into the trees as if seeing a glimpse of the future, "Will be my brothers successor."

There was a small silence after that, but Ashton grinned and stepped forward, "And what is the plan exactly?"

This snapped Scar back to reality and he looked at the shapeshifter who came forward, "Ah, I'm glad you asked." He grinned and all three of them stared at their alpha with much interest, "The boy… We'll kill him first." Ashton and Jason nodded their heads and Ed stared blankly, watching as Scar spoke to the other two, "We'll lure him to the sealed gate, from there you will kill him, rip him to shreds if you must."

"Sounds excellent already." Ashton rubbed his hands together, causing friction between them. "What about the king? What do we do to take _him_ down?"

"Ah, Ashton, you are just filled with questions today." He patted his head as if petting a dog, though, the shapeshifter glared over to his alpha but Scar continued on, ignoring him, "I will tell James that I have no idea where his poor, ANNOYING, son went, and the night of the full moon, before everything begins for me, I will tell him that someone supposedly saw Drake in the forest. That he IS back, and James, before thinking if I know my brother, will go running off into the bloody forest, in search for his beloved child. From there…" He paused and watched as all of their eyes widened, "I will transform… into my true nature, and the rest will be…. History." Jason and Ashton grinned at one another and Ed's hand flew up right away, acting as if he were in a classroom and trying to either ask a question or answering one. "_What_, Ed?" Scar growled and he stood up straight.

"And we be here?" He asked stupidly and Scar groaned, frustration flowing through his entire body.

"YES, ED." He snapped and the shapeshifter cocked his head to the side, "YOU WILL BE IN HERE. HELPING ME AS THE IDIOTIC DOG YOU ARE." While turning to tune out the idiot, he faced the other two who had double sinister grins, "Brothers, our moment is coming and we must be prepared for it."

"All of this is great and everything, boss…" Jason said lightly and Scar glared down at him, "But how will you know what you're doin'? Isn't it said that a werewolf loses their mind and just attacks anything that moves?"

A wicked grin spilled across his features and they all tilted their head to the side out of pure confusion, "That's what everyone seems to think, isn't it?" He paced the area, watching as the shapeshifters all formed into a line, "I still have parts of my mind and I see what I attack. _Notice_… I have never attacked one of you before when we're all out here on a full moon, but I have attacked other animals throughout the forest. Sometimes, witches or warlocks even go missing." With a brief pause, he added the last part with such evil that it made the shapeshifters flinch, " Though I am blinded by rage, I still understand who my targets are."

* * *

"Man, we were on FIRE!" Danny exclaimed as they began walking back to their own houses from baseball tryouts. Both Danny and Cole lived on the same block, a couple houses down from one another, Drake had somewhat of a walk left, and with all this darkness engulfed around him, he wasn't sure how far he'd go without getting spooked. "We definitely made the team."

"He'd be stupid if he didn't put the three of us on there!" Cole exclaimed, but froze watching as his father stood on the corner with his arms crossed, glaring down his son. "Oh no..."

"WHERE WERE YOU?" Thomas Archer yelled and stormed over to Cole, grabbing him by his hair. Drake and Danny jumped watching as Cole's face turned from excitement, into true pain and torment. His dark eyes glanced down at his son's clothes and he yanked his hair, "YOU WENT TO BASEBALL TRYOUTS, DID YA?" Cole nodded his head quickly, feeling his father's grip loosen and his hands went right to his sides, "If you don't tell me where you're going one more time, you will not see the light of day, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

"Y-yeah, dad..." Drake could tell that Cole was embarrassed and once Thomas looked over to him and Danny, they both pretended to look away, acting as if they saw nothing. Although, Drake smelled a rather foul oder coming from Mr. Archer, he could smell it every time he spoke.

"Say goodbye to your friends, Cole." He said softly, though, Drake felt that once they got home, Cole was gonna get his punishment again, "We're leaving."

"B-bye..." Cole said quietly, holding back tears as he and his father began to walk away from the two boys. Drake watched as the two grew smaller and smaller, and he could feel Danny staring at him. Both of them we're frightened about what just happened, they have never seen someone treat their child that way before.

"D-Do you think Cole will be ok?" Danny asked after a period of silence and Drake took in a deep breath, nodding his head quickly, "How do you know?"

"Because if he's not ok... That's a crime, right?" Drake asked and Danny nodded, "And he could be put in jail for... Well..."

"BUT THAT WASN'T RIGHT!" Danny exclaimed, shaking his head, "I've never seen someone punish their kid like that before! Usually it's just yelling or warnings but that- that was..."

"Unfair?" Drake finished his sentence and watched as his sandy brown head bobbed up and down, "I know, Dan, but..."

"BUT NOTHIN' DRAKE!" Danny cried and the prince's eyes widened when he saw literal tears forming in his friends eyes, "Did you see Cole's face? He was hurt! We gotta do something! We gotta-"

"LIKE WHAT?" Drake yelled, grabbing his friends attention and discontinuing the ramble, "We can't do anything, Dan! That's the way he wants to punish Cole and there isn't anything we can do about it!"

"Wanna bet?" Danny asked and Drake shook his head, "Tell your dad what you saw tonight!"

"No." Drake answered dully and the boy opened his mouth to speak again, but Drake waved his hand in front of his face to silence him, "I can't tell my dad what I saw, because I'm a liar too... who knows what my parents will do to _me _if they find out I have detention all week! I could end up in Cole's position, and... I-I don't want that!" There was a slight pause between both the boys and the prince sighed.

"Do you think Cole wants it?" His friend asked and Drake shook his head again, knowing the answer to that particular question. "Then we gotta do somethin-"

"Look, I gotta get home." Drake interrupted Danny, but the boy nodded, noticing that the sun had gone down and his mother and father might be worried about him as well. "We'll talk tomorrow."

With that, Danny sprinted off towards his house, which wasn't too far from where they were standing and Drake watched him until he got to his house safely, from there, his eyes scanned over to the Archer's house and he found Mr. Archer closing the blinds in the house and this made a shiver crawl up the young prince's spine. While turning around, Drake began walking back to the castle and as he grew closer and closer to the door, a nervous feeling washed over him. His heart began to pound against his chest and his hands grew clammy. _What if they didn't believe it? _He thought,_ What if I end up just like Cole?_ A gentle sigh escaped his lips as his hand lifted from his sides and grasped the elegant doorknob. He twisted it and walked through the empty area of the castle, closing the door behind him swiftly. With a sigh of relief, he kicked his muddy shoes off and began running up the winding, marble staircase, but that was only until Queen Elizabeth met him at the top.

"Ah, Drake..." Elizabeth said in almost a surprised tone of voice, "Are you alright honey? You look live you've just seen a ghost!"

"Y-yeah mom." He casually lied, "I'm fine."

"How was tryouts?" She smiled and started down the stairs, "You're filthy... you must of had fun."

"Oh..." Drake nodded, "It was a blast! I'm gonna... go shower now."

The queen studied his expression for a moment, but allowed him to go. "Well, alright..." She began and watched as Drake inched towards the bathroom door, "We'll talk later."

"Ok, great!" The prince announced and slammed the bathroom door shut, heavily panting and resting his back against it. He needed to speak with Victoria... _NOW_. While glancing down at his muddy clothes, he groaned as he reached into the shower and turned the faucet onto warm, and jumping into it before going to see her. At least he'd be clean.

* * *

While pulling on some sweat pants and a t-shirt, the prince glanced out the window, a feeling of guilt forming in the pit of his stomach. Half of him wished that he went and helped Cole... but another half of him thoroughly explained itself, stating: **There wasn't anything he could do.** Sneaking over to the door, he opened it only to catch the hallway empty. _Wow, talk about pure luck._ He thought, and tip-toed out of his room, gently shutting the door behind him. While making his way over to Victoria's he knocked first, hearing her jump due to the sudden noise. He stared at the door for a long moment until she opened it coming face to face with the prince. _Be strong... Just tell her_. He thought and watched as her eyebrows rose.

"Drake?" She exclaimed and he pushed himself into her room, shutting the door quickly behind him. The brunette shook her head over and over again, pulling a sweater on over her pajama top, and her greenish-blue eyes poured into his amber ones, "If they found out, I swear I didn't-"

"Victoria..." Drake began with fear taking over his voice._ BE STRONG! _He thought, and shook his head allowing tears to spill from his eyes and his friend stared at him with an awe expression, "I- I saw something really bad!" With that, he threw his arms around her, crying into her shoulder. The brunette blinked out of pure confusion and she wrapped her arms around him, trying to calm him down. _So much for being strong._ He mentally smacked himself, but Cole's face being in so much pain and how angry his father looked... it made him scared, and he needed to talk to someone other than Danny... he needed his best friend. Victoria Morlet.

"Drake, what is it?" She asked soothingly and pulled him away from her so she could see his face. He sniffled and his amber eyes stared at the ground as she studied his features closely, "What did you see?"

* * *

**AN**: So there was a lot going on in this chapter. No, James and Elizabeth do not know about Drake getting detention for the week, but I'm sure they'll find out. Drake was a bad boy and went to baseball tryouts instead of detention... Hm, I wonder what the consequences are for that one.

**Scar **as you found out, is a _werewolf_. Does that help where he got his 'scar' from? His back story will be coming up soon, don't worry your pretty little heads. And **Thomas Archer,** Cole's father, is a jerk! ): I felt terrible writing that part, but I thought it was good for the upcoming events of the story. Danny and Drake were all O_O Holy shit. XDD

**Elizabeth **definitely knows something's up, but she probably decided to wait and talk to Drake later. Or maybe she just doesn't want to know xD I doubt it, mothers always want to know what's up. And the part with **Drake **and **Victoria **made me "Awwww" For real. XD I could so picture that happening. :) And in case anyone's confused **(If I didn't make it clear) **Drake's talking about Cole's father to Victoria, and he's gonna tell her exactly what he saw. I think he was afraid of his parents getting violent with him as well, that's why he came in all sneakishly and all O_O. I mean come on, if I was a kid and saw that, I'd be traumatized too.

So tell me, **what was your favorite part?**

_-Shadowlandx0_


	5. Can't stay away

**Can't stay away**

The light morning sun penetrated through the windows and Drake groaned, rolling his head, only to feel that something was most definitely different about this situation. With quick motions, the prince opened one eye to find himself face to face with a girl's room. Promptly, he jumped to his feet, a dizzy feeling washing through him. _SHOOT_! He thought and glanced around the room, _I fell asleep in Victoria's room last night! _

His amber eyes scanned the area, only to find her sleeping in the opposite chair, they both must have dozed off while talking about Cole's father last night. A strange feeling pierced the prince's neck as he shifted his head different ways. "Ah…" He groaned and his right hand lifted to rub the soreness of his now stiff neck. "Vee…" Drake whispered as he groggily made his way over to her armchair, "Vee, wake up." While nudging her gently, the brunette groaned and her ivory hand lifted up only to cover her eyes from the light.

"Go. Away." She stated firmly and Drake smirked, while grabbing a pillow off the couch and heightening his voice.

"Get up, Vee." He tried to make his voice sound more like a woman's, more like Isabelle's. "Time for school." When her eyebrows scrunched together, both her eyes popped open at the same time and Drake gently hit her with the pillow. "MORNING!"

"JERK!" She yelled and felt around for her blanket, but the brunette soon came to realize that she wasn't in her bed; she was in the armchair next to the fireplace. "What the heck are you doing in here?" Her greenish blue eyes scanned the room, finding a clock, "It's five in the morning! I don't need to be up until seven!"

"Well good morning to you too, _princess_." He rolled his eyes and Victoria glared, "I must have fallen asleep in here, and as for being up at five…" She raised her eyebrows and he smirked, "I just wanted to annoy you."

"Good." She grunted and moved from the chair to her comfortable, warm bed. "Now get out."

He raised an eyebrow and inched towards the brunette, "Now is that anyway to treat a gues-"

"OUT." She yelled and he jumped, briskly walking towards the door. A sarcastic thought came to mind, but he quickly pushed it away before leaving her room and sneaking down the hallway. On the way to his room, his amber eyes heard a squeaking sound, and caught sight of a door halfway closed, though it was opening and closing by itself. This possibly led into a room he's never been in before, and curiosity washed over him as he walked over to it, examining everything before hesitantly opening it wider.

The door led to a bunch of dusty, wooden stairs and he raised his eyebrows, glancing around the hallway, making sure that no one saw him, and stepping foot on the first step. A strange thought came to mind, why hadn't the maids of the castle cleaned this area? And why hasn't he ever been up here before?

As the curious prince missed the last step, he fell forward, his chin hitting the floor with a loud thud, and a piece of wood that stuck out of the floor, cut him. With a groan, he sat up straight and wiped the blood from his chin. Being thankful it wasn't a lot, he still had an urge to look around, though this time he was cautious of where he stepped. "Whoa…" He grinned and watched as everything had been off to the sides, yet were all out in the open, permitting objects free to be gazed at and touched… all except one thing.

His eyebrows scrunched together as he got to his feet and walked over to a lump of discolored white in the middle of the floor. His hands grasped the tarnished material and lifted it off of the object that lay underneath. Spiders fell from the old, dusted, sheet but he quickly threw it to the side, looking at the drawer with downright confusion. His hands grasped the knob and he yanked at it, finding that it was unable to open.

A frown tugged on his lips and he noticed that the blood had gotten heavier on his chin, and dripped from his light olive skin, to the dusty, old-fashioned drawer. With a roll of his eyes, he wiped the blood away again and decided not to give up on the drawer. _It has to open… Why else would it be covered and placed in the middle of the room?_ He thought, _It must be stuck… the thing is way old…_ Grasping the golden knob again, he yanked it back with all his might, but it opened with ease, allowing the prince to stumble backwards. Luckily, he caught his balance, but being stable wasn't important right now, what was important was whatever is in that drawer. Tentatively, he walked over to it, peering down inside only to find a dusty, wooden box. "Awesome…" He grinned, while picking it up with his hands and examining the box. Feeling several indents, he noticed that they formed different curves and lines and being as curious as this prince is, he shifted the box so that he was looking at it's side, and his hand swiped the dust away, reading the words that appeared in gold writing. "To my dearest daughter, Charlotte Ashburn?"

Lowering the box, he tried to remember if there was a woman named Charlotte Ashburn, and if there were, where would she be right now? A thought processed his mind and he quickly placed the box on top of the drawer, opening the top just a tiny bit, revealing a piece of paper. "Drake?" A familiar voice filled his ears as he let the box slam shut and he quickly placed it back in the drawer, pushing it closed. "Are you up here?"

"Y-YEAH." He called and watched as his father stood in the doorway. His eyes widened as James's muscular figure walked into the room even more and a slight smile pulled across his lips.

"How did you get the door to open?" He asked with awe and Drake shook his head, but he couldn't help but wonder why his father has never been up here, "I tried to get this door to open as a kid… It never worked." The prince's eyes widened and he stared up at his father, "According to my father, there's some secret key that was hidden somewhere down the line, and this door was sealed with an enchantment… Only one who has the key is able to open it." Drake looked at the ground, mainly because he didn't HAVE a key, the moment he walked out of the hallway, it decided to open … It was almost like it was waiting for him… "What's this?" James asked and Drake looked up from the ground and watched as his father took hold of the golden knob and tried to yank the drawer open… It wouldn't budge. "Weird…" He frowned and the prince just stared at it, complete awe taking over his features. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you how baseball tryouts went? Do you think you made the team?"

His mind was swirling with different situations and events that have been happening, but in the end, he comprehended exactly what his father had asked him, and he allowed a firm nod to bob his head up and down, "Yeah, I'm sure I did."

"That's my boy!" He grinned and messed up Drake's hair, "And how was school yesterday? Didn't get into too much trouble did ya?"

A guilty feeling pierced his heart and made his throat tighten, as if forbidding words to escape his mouth of lies. "No…" He said slowly and James raised his eyebrows, "N-Not too much…"

"That's my boy." The king grinned and began walking towards the door, to leave the attic, "Maybe this weekend I can teach you about the kingdom, wouldn't that be a nice change?"

Drake nodded his head forcing a fake smile to pull across his lips, "Can't wait!" With that, his father smiled and headed out of the door, walking down the stairs quickly, and once his footsteps disappeared, the prince quickly looked down at the drawer, opening it with ease. A simple shake of his head escaped from a deep emotion inside himself, that emotion stated the creepiness of this situation, and he slammed the drawer shut, running out of the attic, and closing the door behind him.

The young prince, found himself in pure light again and he smiled, feeling a sense of safety, though, his stomach began rumbling and he knew exactly what that was. Food. With simple motions, he decided to briskly walk down to the kitchen, and when he steps foot into the room he sees Scar looking around for something. His eyebrows rise out of confusion and he quietly walks over to his uncle, "Why are you up so-"

"HOLY-" Scar spazzed and looked down at his nephew who had a broad grin on his face, "Never sneak up on a man while their working, _Drake_."

"What are you working on?" He asked and Scar groaned out of annoyance, he obviously didn't want to be bothered with his nephew's constant questions.

"I don't believe it's any of your business." He stated and Drake frowned watching as his uncle made his way to the other side of the room, but he froze, turning slowly and grinning down at his nephew. "Has your father showed you the kingdom yet?"

"No…" Drake answered softly, a hint of disappointment in his voice, "But he said that this weekend he can… except I have-"

"So he didn't tell you about the sealed gate?" Scar asked with wide eyes and Drake's eyes widened as well.

"The WHAT?" He asked and Scar shook his head. "No! Tell me! C'mon uncle Scar!"

"Oh I'm sorry Drake I just can't tell yo-" As soon as the prince opened his mouth to argue, Scar continued on, "The sealed gate is known to have the DEAD rise there at night." Drake's eyes widened even more with excitement and the delusional uncle nodded his head, "But it's far too dangerous… only the bravest warlocks go there." Glancing down at his watch he jumped and reached for the door, "I'm late for something important… Just Drake… Promise me you won't go to that dreadful place… I'd hate to hear if something-" He paused and stared down at his nephew with disgust, "-bad happened to you."

"No problem." He grinned and watched as his uncle nodded and disappeared from the room with straightforwardness. The only thing left on Drake's mind was the sealed gate, and how exactly it can boost his reputation. _Drake Ashburn… The bravest king to ever walk the kingdom_… The grin only grew and excitement built up inside his young body, and he watched as Victoria's figure made it into the kitchen, groaning. "Hey, beautiful…" He eyed her huge, messy hair and the bags underneath her eyes.

"Careful, Drake." She warned and he smirked watching as she sat in a chair, "I may give you another one of those cuts that's underneath your chin."

"Ugh!" He groaned and touched the blood that was oozing out of the wound, "It keeps bleeding!"

A heavy sigh escaped the brunette's mouth as she made her way over to the sink, grabbing a towel and wetting it just a tiny bit. "Here." She threw him the damp rag and he caught it with his right hand. "Use that… It should help."

"Thanks…" He muttered and put the towel to his chin, watching as she stared at him with a silly expression on her face, "What?"

"Did you cut yourself trying to shave or something?" She joked and he rolled his eyes, not finding the humor in this at all.

* * *

"Now!" Isabelle called out to Victoria as they stepped foot from the castle to walk to school, "Be good you three!" They all nodded back but Elizabeth observed her son's nervousness when leaving the castle. She glanced over to the other two women and sighed heavily.

"There is something that boy isn't telling me." She stated and the other two moms watched her with knowing eyes.

"Liz, our children keep things from us all the time." Isabelle said with a shrug, "It's what kids do. Do you remember telling your parents everything?" With that, Isabelle raised her eyebrows, and they both thought of the different times in their lives.

A giggle surpassed Elizabeth's lips and she shook her head, "No, I didn't tell my parents everything." Opal smiled and leaned against the wall. "But I was older when that started."

"Well when the sneaking around started you were older." Isabelle grinned and Elizabeth laughed and shook her head, "When we were little we kept things away from our parents so we wouldn't get into trouble, yet they found out anyway…"

"Though, sometimes, they didn't." Elizabeth added and her friend nodded.

"But those were the unimportant secrets… which I'm sure is exactly what Drake's keeping from you. We would have found out by now, if it were something big, there is no possible way it'll stay hidden for a long period of time." The brunette beauty smiled and Elizabeth grinned as well, nodding her head. "So Opal, does Ayden get into anything like this?"

"No…" She admitted softly with a slight blush, "I wish he did. He needs to get out there a little, but I'm glad that he's made friends with Drake and Victoria, I think they'll help him a lot."

"Well, Victoria will." Elizabeth stated and Isabelle smiled, "She seems to follow the rules much more than my son does."

"Yes, but she still follows him." Isabelle observed and Opal tilted her head to the side.

"Are they betrothed?" She asked and this caught Elizabeth and Isabelle off guard. "I mean… They just seem to be-"

"Yes, they are." Elizabeth said with a warm smile, "I hope they enjoy that decision when their older… I know I did."

"King James and you were betrothed?" She asked out of surprise and Elizabeth nodded her head.

"I lived in the castle with both my parents, and my dad wasn't too thrilled about James and I being betrothed, he said I should be able to choose who I wanted to be with." Opal nodded her head, and Elizabeth began walking down the long hallway, away from the door, "And my mother said that this is perfect for us… You see, when I was a little girl, my family and I were poor. They had to come to the conclusion that I would have to live with my grandparents soon… My grandparents and parents never got along… but they loved me." She smiled lightly and Opal nodded, "And that's when King Alexander, James's father, took us in… He overheard the conversation and when I was little… I was quite beautiful…"

"You still are." Isabelle reminded her and Elizabeth smiled at her best friend.

"And he introduced me to James, telling my parents that I was to be betrothed to him. My mother said that was fine, but like I said before, my dad hated it. As time went on, James and I couldn't stand one another. Things he was interested in, I hated… and things I liked, he hated." Opal's eyebrows rose and she shot her new friend a grin, "Funny how things turn out, huh?" The blond nodded and Elizabeth went on with her story, "Of course, my best friend is Isabelle, and she'd come over to the castle every day, and James actually started liking her. I got angry and that was our first fight… and I told her not to come over ever again, but… in the end it all worked out."

"That's still beautiful." Opal smiled, "But what if your children are different? What if Drake and Victoria only see one another as friends? Then what happens?"

"Then I will not force them into anything." Elizabeth stated, "I would hate if that happened to me… but I feel confident about them, I can see it already, even if no one else can."

The three were quiet for a moment, but Isabelle finally piped up, "No… I see it too… Drake's sort of… protective of her. It's cute."

"That is adorable." Opal laughed and nodded. "What about you and your husband, Isabelle?"

"Ah… Victor." She grinned and Elizabeth smiled, "Victor and I met when we were older. He was James's best friend growing up, and we've seen one another a couple of times but never officially met. Once we did, everything clicked, and we got married young. We were married for three years and decided to have a baby… We got a girl and we named her Victoria, after her father, and two years later, we had Nick, but…" Elizabeth placed an arm around her friend for comfort, "He got sick… terribly sick… He had cancer and we didn't catch it on time… He died, leaving me to raise two children… So Elizabeth told me to come live with them, and she repeated exactly what happened to her in the past. They will be betrothed."

"Oh." Opal said sadly, "At least you have such a wonderful friend to help you." Isabelle nodded and Elizabeth did as well.

"But now we're helping you through this." The queen grinned, "We're all friends here."

* * *

"Drake… Where are you going?" Victoria asked, as he prince tried to lead them a different direction, "Schools THAT way." She pointed towards the direction she knew about and he shook his head, turning to face her.

"We're skipping school today." He announced and Victoria and Ayden looked at one another with surprised faces.

"We?" Victoria asked as she looked over at her best friend, "Why?"

He grinned over to her and shoved his hands into his pockets, "Because… I heard of a really cool place… and I'm not goin' back over there, are you crazy?" He raised his eyebrows, "Wake up on the wrong side of the arm chair?"

"I can't believe you fell asleep in my room." She groaned, walking over to him, "And I don't see how this effects US. You skipping detention only effects you."

"Yes, well, who else am I gonna go to this really great place with?" Drake asked and when Victoria opened her mouth, he knew exactly what she was going to say, "Danny and Cole aren't my best friends, Vee… You are."

This took her a moment to grasp, but she finally gave in and sighed, "Where are we going?"

"To the sealed gate." He grinned and her eyebrows scrunched together, "I don't really know where it is though… So we'll have to look for it all day."

"I don't understand…" She began and felt Ayden standing next to her, "What's so special about a sealed gate?"

His grin grew broader, "It's said that the dead rise there at night." He glanced at the sky, noticing the bright light burning it in, "It's not night yet, but we have ALL day… C'mon… I don't wanna go and face that jerk today! He hates me!"

"The dead rise there?" Victoria asked with a grin, "Alright, I'm in!"

"I'm not." Ayden stated boldly and Drake raised his eyebrows, "I mean… I don't wanna go there… I don't wanna get into trouble with my mom for ditching school."

"That's ok." Drake said, "You can go to school if you really want to… In fact… Tell people about what I'm doing!"

"Tell people?" Ayden asked, "But why? Aren't you afraid that a teacher will hear it and tell your parents?"

"No." Drake smirked, "Just tell the teachers I'm sick, that it's a rumor. They'll believe anything. Besides, Nick's sick with the flu, they'll think that I caught it from him… They'll think Victoria did too."

"Alright, alright." Ayden frowned, "Have fun…"

"Oh…" Drake grinned and glanced over to Victoria, "We will."

* * *

**AN: **Alright, not my favorite chapter, I will admit, but it's building up to 'THE SEALED GATE' **DUNDUNDUUUUUN.**

I liked Drake's little comments to Victoria, and I liked when she fired back at him, it just seemed like something Simba and Nala would do.

I gave background on Elizabeth Ashburn and Isabelle Morlet, though, nothing on Opal yet, but her time is coming. I'm not sure when though. What is Scar in a rush about? Where do you think he's off to? ;]

**IMPORTANT:**

**Anyone notice the attic scene?** Do you know why it opened for Drake? It opened for him when the blood trickled down from his chin, and splashed onto the drawer just as Garretts tears sealed it. Though, James still couldn't open it... Only Drake could... and why did the door open by itself? **Let me hear your theories. :)** _because I already know why._ ;)


	6. The sealed gate

**The Sealed Gate**

When Ayden Renolds arrived at school, Shayna and Alison automatically greeted him, though; he was feeling a bit nervous about how this would all play out. "Hello, Ayden!" Alison grinned and the blond waved back over to her, "Where are the other two today?"

"Um…" He began and they both raised their eyebrows, giving him a wondering look, "They ditched. It was all Drake's idea." Shayna and Alison's mouth dropped and Ayden honestly wasn't expecting this reaction, "B-but you can't tell the teachers or anything…"

"That sneak!" Shayna accused and Ayden got baffled, "He's always dragging Victoria down with him! She should NOT be friends with him."

"Hey now…" Alison began and Shayna threw her a dirty look, "Victoria and Drake are best friends, we can't come between them, right Ayden."

"Uh… Right." He said, watching as two figures made it over to him and the two girls. He turned his head to look at them, noticing that they were the boys from yesterday… Cole and Danny, except Cole had a bruise on his face.

"Hey, man." Cole said and Ayden couldn't help but stare at it, he noticed that he was looking at the bruise for a while and he pulled his vision away, "Where's Drake?"

"He and Victoria ditched." The blond said quickly and Cole raised his eyebrows while Danny started laughing. "They're going to the Sealed Gate."

"THE WHAT?" Danny asked, his laugh stopping almost immediately. "WHY?"

"I-I don't know… He said it was cool and that he'd rather be there than here." Ayden replied with wide eyes and Danny and Cole shook their heads, obviously, they knew something that none of them had, but what?

Once the bell rang, Ayden led Cole, Danny, Shayna and Alison into the building; yet, he found it a little strange that they would follow HIM, normally, they'd follow Drake into the building. While shifting is book bag on his back, the blond decided to hurry up to his first class, which was Drake's absolute favorite… Mr. Harris's summoning class.

Ayden walked in the room and everyone eyed him with suspicion. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, he took a seat in the desk he sat in yesterday and someone threw a paperball at his head. Turning around slightly, he glared at whoever did it, but they students simply gazed off somewhere, though, their laughing gave it away. With a roll of his deep blue eyes, he turned his head to face the front, praying that the teacher walked in soon. While glancing to the empty desk next to him, he frowned wishing that Drake was here, they'd listen to him and stop being mean. Another paper ball flew into the air, hitting the blond right in the back of the head, causing his jaw to jutt out due to annoyance, and by the time the third one hit he spun around quickly, catching the one who threw it, "WILL YOU STOP?"

"Good Morning, class." Mr. Harris walked in just as the second bell rang, and Ayden frowned turning around to face the front again, "And welcome to your second day of summoning class, let me just take attendance quickly, and we will get started on our second lesson… The call of a werewolf." Most of the students made a noise, letting him know that the lesson seemed interesting or boring; however, Ayden was still slightly annoyed with those idiot students and somewhat nervous about lying to this teacher. He seems pretty on it, and truth be told, Ayden Renolds is not the best liar.

The teacher scanned the students, checking off names on his little chart, and when he looked right at Ayden, he noticed an empty desk, with paper balls all over the floor, "Ah…" He observed and the blond gulped. "Where's your friend, Mister Renolds?"

Taking in a deep breath, he opened his mouth to speak, but a girl in the classroom answered before him. "He ditched." She said lightly and her and another girl started giggling. They thought this entire bad boy persona was attractive, and it made the girls all want him, but now Ayden was shaking, besides, how did she find out so fast? The only ones he told had been Shayna, Alison, Cole and Danny!

"Ditched?" Mr. Harris asked with unsurprised eyes, "Well he ditched _DETENTION _yesterday as well, and I was even going to let that one slide, due to tryouts being yesterday, but seeing he's done it again… I believe it's time to make a call to the young boy's parents, hmm?" Everyone went quiet and Ayden shook his head, standing up from his seat.

"He didn't ditch." He stated and the man looked at him with cold eyes. He could hear the people behind him snickering and making fun, so this made him slightly self conscious, "H-He's sick with the flu… He must have caught it from Victoria's little brother… because she has it too."

"Is that so?" The teacher asked and Ayden nodded his head quickly, "Well, maybe I should call the castle and make sure, mm?" _No_! Ayden thought, but he decided not to say anything. A frown approached his lips and Mr. Harris glared down at him as the blond slowly started to sit, "You're sticking up for him and I can tell you're LYING. Don't make me treat you the same way… Drake Ashburn is one thing and I don't need two of him… UNDERSTAND?"

"Y-yes, sir." Ayden nodded quickly and the teacher smiled down at the scared boy.

"Good." He replied and briskly walked back, reaching to a phone that was on his desk and he called the front desk of the school. Everyone remained silent, Ayden swore he heard a pin drop and hit the floor… _this is all because that girl couldn't shut up! _He thought bitterly and frowned while crossing his arms over his chest.

* * *

Elizabeth watched as the tiny fairy cleaned the house rather quickly and she smiled down at him, "Missed a spot." She joked and Phil glared up at her, crossing his arms over his chest, "Oh, I'm only joking! Continue… You're doing a fantastic job."

"Queen Elizabeth…" Opal said softly and the queen turned around, "It's for you." She held out a portable phone and Elizabeth's eyebrows rose, "It's from the school…"

"Thank you, Opal." She said, while grabbing the phone, "And… You don't have to call me 'Queen' Elizabeth, Elizabeth or Liz is just fine." They both smiled at one another and she placed the phone next to her ear, talking into the receiver, "Hello, this is Elizabeth."

"Queen Elizabeth, I am so sorry to bother you." A woman on the other end stated, "Is Prince Drake at home with the flu today?"

Her eyebrows scrunched together and she froze for a moment, "N-No… Why?"

"Because we have no record of him ever showing up to school today, Ayden Renolds said that he caught the flu from his friends brother, and actually, Victoria isn't here either." Elizabeth froze, and with perfect timing, Isabelle and Nick walked into the kitchen, the queen observed that Nick looked much better than yesterday. "We believe he ditched school, and yesterday he ditched detention with his teacher Mister Harris."

"DETENTION?" Elizabeth exclaimed and this caused Isabelle and Nick to jump, "ON THE FIRST DAY?"

"Yes, Ma'am." She said softly and this made the queen fuming. Him and Victoria had to be around the castle, correct?

"Well, thank you, and believe me… I will grab a hold of him and he will be punished for this." She promised the woman on the phone, though, she was mostly telling herself.

"May I speak to Isabelle Morlet as well?" The woman asked and the queen shook her head, even though the other woman couldn't see her.

"I'll tell her about Victoria." Elizabeth stated and Isabelle froze, looking over to her friend, "Thank you, have a wonderful day."

"You too." She said, and they both hung up the phone, Elizabeth stared in disbelief at her best friend and Nick raised his eyebrows.

She stayed quiet for several moments, but decided that her friend has been suffering enough just by overhearing the conversation, "Drake and Victoria ditched school today." The Queen finally admitted and Isabelle's eyes widened with rage. "Drake got detention yesterday and ditched that… Now he's ditching school the second day… Isabelle… I don't know what I'm gonna do with him!"

Tears started to flood down from the queen's eyes and Isabelle hugged her friend, "Hey, look at me." She replied after the comfort was done, "Drake, no matter what he does, is still a good kid. He has a good heart. He just… doesn't seem to think there's a problem with ditching school… They have to be somewhere in the castle, right?" Isabelle asked, and Elizabeth nodded her head, "We'll look for them, and ground them."

"Oh…" The queen sniffled, "I'm going to do more than ground him… I'm taking away baseball. He will not be playing on the team this year! He ditched detention to go to tryouts yesterday… I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING HE WAS KEEPING FROM ME!"

"Phil…" Isabelle began and the fairy dropped what he was doing, "Can you go and tell-"

"I'm on it." He said and vanished with a pop. Elizabeth's eyebrows scrunched together and Isabelle frowned.

"James needs to know, Liz." She said softly with a frown, "You know he does…"

"I-I know…" She began and shook her head, "I'm not backing down, Is.. No matter how much be cries and complains."

"And I wont either with Victoria." Isabelle vowed, then she made a face, "Maybe… Them being betrothed isn't a good idea after all."

"Oh, I know." Elizabeth groaned, "Can you imagine what their kids will be like?" They both shuddered and Nick smiled over to them.

* * *

"How much further, Drake?" Victoria complained, feeling the hot sun on her head. Swiftly, she ran her fingers through her gorgeous hair and pulled it up into a ponytail.

"I…" He began and glanced around with a frown.

"You don't know do you?" She asked with a heavy sigh and Drake shot her a glare.

"OF COURSE I DO." He stated and turned to look in front of him again, "I just… need to refresh my memory…"

"Refresh your memory?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest, "Really, Drake?"

"Hey!" He replied and looked at her again, "Stop complaining, Vee."

"Stop COMPLAINING?" She looked angry and he gave her a look, "HOW COULD YOU EVEN SAY THAT?" When he didn't answer, she continued on her mini rant, "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THIS PLACE IS, WE DITCHED SCHOOL… WE'RE DEAD MEAT… BESIDES…" She took in a deep breath to calm down, "I think that this is dangerous… We should just go home."

Drake rolled his eyes, "You were all for it a couple hours ago!" A smirk pulled across his lips and she crossed her arms over her chest, "Dangerous, huh?" He asked and she nodded firmly, "Danger… HA. I walk on the wild side… I laugh in the face of danger, HA HA HA H-" Growling filled the young prince's ears and he turned his head slightly only to find three giant wolves making they're way over to them. He started to stumble backwards with his eyes wide and Victoria grabbed a hold of his arm, pulling him closer to her.

The wolves started to close in on them and Drake turned around, pulling on Victoria's hand as they ran through the woods. She lagged behind a little, but he pulled her along quite quickly. "TOLD YOU." She stated as they ran and her voice didn't process through his mind right now, he was only thinking of ways to get out of here.

As they ran deeper into the forest, the young prince glanced backwards, watching as the wolf opened his jaws, growing closer and closer to Victoria's leg. While taking a deep breath in hoping to find some courage, he pushed the brunette beauty in front of him and the shapeshifter grasped the prince's leg, pulling him back to where he lost balance. She screamed and his stomach hit the ground, scraping against the rough forest floor as it dragged him. The shapeshifter used its paw to flip him over, and he kept his claws close to Drake's throat.

Surprisingly, his face looked very calm, but his body was terrified beyond belief. The claws dug into his neck, and the others forgot about Victoria and went straight for him, their jaws opening, only to clamp down and end it all. Drake closed his eyes and out of instinct, flinched back and blocked his face, but he didn't feel anything, only a burning sensation of pain in his leg and neck where the claws had been. The sound of whimpers filled his ears and Drake's eyebrows scrunched together before opening his eyes and glancing up at the wolves… all three of them were in pain, and the shapeshifters continuously shook their heads over and over. "What the heck…" He began and he glanced behind him only to catch Victoria staring at the wolves, mouthing something… She was in a trance.

Quickly, the prince shot to his feet and limped over to his best friend, "Vee?" He asked and shook her, but she still continued to mouth the words, "VEE!" He tried again and she quickly shook her head, both finding themselves staring into each others eyes, "Are you-"

"DRAKE!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him, "YOU'RE ALRIGHT!"

"Yeah. C'MON, we have to go… NOW!" He shouted, and grabbed her arm, pulling her with him as they ran through the forest. While blocking the pain from his leg where the giant wolf had bit him, he decided to keep going, for the sake of Victoria and himself, who knew how long it would take for the wolves to recover from what just happened, "Hurry, keep going!"

* * *

"Elizabeth?" James walked through the castle doors, only to find Elizabeth and Isabelle pacing the area. Nick sat next to Opal who kept a frown on her face as well. "Phil told me everything. I swear on my fathers grave that he will be grounded for the rest of this week." Glancing around the area he frowned, "Where is he?"

"Oh, believe me James, I already know he will be grounded." Elizabeth stated with a firm nod, "Except for one thing..." He raised his eyebrows, "I can't find him anywhere."

"What?" James asked with wide eyes and Phil popped over his shoulder, hovering over the king's head, "What do you mean you can't find him, Phil said you said he was somewhere in the castle!"

She shook her head quickly and Isabelle frowned, "We checked the entire castle, top to bottom. We couldn't find him anywhere."

"What about the attic?" James asked with a raised brow, causing everyone to tilt their head or scrunch their eyebrows due to confusion. "I saw him up there earlier."

"The attic cannot be opened, James." Elizabeth replied with a shake of her head, "I remember you trying to get up there loads of times, and I remember your father telling everyone the story about Thaddeus Ashburn and the vampires, and the secret key to the attic... He always sent us on scavenger hunts to find it, but no one came remotely close-"

"Yes, well he was up there... and from the looks of it, he didn't _have _a key." James grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. Elizabeth's eyes widened from hearing this news._ He didn't HAVE a key?_ She thought, but James continued on talking. "Anyway, I'm sorry it took me so long. I was far from home this time and-"

"Don't worry dear." She inturrupted her husband's rambling, but her new topic to wonder about was how on earth Drake either A. Got the key, or B. Got in WITHOUT the key. "Our son will be back soon." Her voice sounded distant and James examined her face carefully, "Besides, when Ayden gets home, I'm sure he knows exactly where he is, and if hes somewhere in the castle, we know he's safe and he'll come out of hiding sooner or later." The King nodded, obviously understanding her view point.

* * *

It was the end of the school day, and Ayden packed up everything into his backpack, and threw it over his shoulders. _Today is going to be one long day. _He thought with a slight frown as he headed towards the doors, only to be followed by Cole and Danny.

"Hey…" Cole began and stepped in front of the blond, "I was wondering… Danny and I want to go to the park and hang out. Do you wanna come with?" He glanced behind Ayden only to catch Shayna and Alison glaring at them, with protective eyes. "You can bring your little girlfriends with if you really want to."

Ayden turned and looked only to catch those two girls staring at him like he was a piece of meat. He felt slightly uncomfortable and turned back around to face the guys, "Yeah, I'll go." He said, deciding that he needed to make other friends besides Drake and Victoria, plus, when they aren't around, who else will he talk to?

As they walked from the building, the girls followed and caught up quite easily. Danny eyed them first and decided to ignore it, but Cole always had something to say, "What? Can't leave your little boyfriend alone for two minutes?"

"HE'S OUR FRIEND, NOT YOURS!" Shayna grew angry and got in Cole's face, and this made Ayden's eyes widen. _They're fighting over ME_? He thought and his eyebrows finally scrunched together. "YOU'RE GONNA GET HIM IN THE SAME TROUBLE THAT DRAKE CONSTANTLY GETS INTO!" _Why are people constantly comparing me to Drake?_

"Oh really?" He asked, getting in her face as well, "THEN WHY DON'T WE ASK HIM?" All heads turned and looked at the blond and he became slightly nervous. "So? Whose it gonna be, blondie?"

"Look…" Ayden started out slowly, placing his hands in front of his body, claiming for peace. He began walking a head of them and then turned around, his hands frozen in the same position. "I think we should all hang out together. It'll be fun and … and _different_."

"Hang out with girls?" Cole asked and shook his head, "No way!"

"Drake hangs out with Victoria all the time… and so do you." Ayden stated and Danny nodded his head at Cole, obviously seeing his point and seeing that the new kid was right.

"But Victoria's different!" Cole smiled and Ayden raised his eyebrows, even Danny took notice to his impish smile when he spoke of beautiful Victoria, "W-what I mean is... She likes the same things we do! And Plus Drake and her grew up together, and it's kinda hard not to be friends with someone in your own house."

"Nice cover up, idiot." Shayna spat back at him and the darker male grew defensive, placing his hands on his hips.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, getting in her face again, but the female didn't back down, she wasn't showing signs of backing down either. Ayden glanced at Danny and he simply shrugged, not knowing what to do.

"You like Victoria." Shayna stated and everyone's eyes widened, "ADMIT IT."

* * *

"Drake, your leg!" Victoria finally spoke up with a frown and he simply shook his head, "No, really you're bleeding… a lot."

"VICTORIA." He stated loudly while panting, "I. Don't. Care. We need to keep _GOING_!"

With that being said, they realized that they COULDN'T keep going… areas around them were all enclosed now and the only thing a head was a black gate with gold wrapped around it. Turning slightly, he glanced behind him noticing that the wolves weren't gone; in fact they seemed pretty safe. The prince slowed to a trot and then stopped running completely, feeling slightly light headed and his leg was in so much pain that he hit the ground. Victoria went to his side immediately and he turned over, rolling up his pant leg only to see crimson rolling down his light olive skin. "Oh, Drake…" She frowned and he shook his head, "That looks really bad…"

Glancing around for a moment, he spotted a tiny body of water and realized that he needed to clear the blood off somehow, and the water would help. While dragging his sore, beat up, body close to the water, he felt Victoria's eyes on him the entire time. The young prince scooped water in his hands and he poured it on his deep wound, and used his fingers to scrub around the dried blood. "What time is it?" He asked and Victoria moved to his side immediately, not wanting to be alone.

"I don't know." She said quietly with a frown and he winced as his fingers tried to remove the dried blood, and more blood oozed out. The brunette placed an ivory hand over her mouth as she watched him continue in pain and she looked away… people in pain wasn't really her thing. "I-I think it's late afternoon."

"Great." He stated and covered the wound with his hand, the deep crimson color staining his light olive complexion. There was silence between the two friends and this made him slightly uncomfortable, he glanced up at Victoria only to find her staring at him already, a smile pulling across her lips. "What?"

"You saved my life." She grinned and this caught him by surprise… He half expected her to tease him about something, but instead she was happy that he did that for her.

"Yeah… Well, you saved my life too." He smiled back and nodded towards her, "Thank you."

"No problem... Except... I-I didn't even realize what I was doing." She admitted embarrassingly and he nodded, "I was so scared, but you…" Her smile grew and his eyes widened, "I thought you were very brave."

"Thanks." He replied, his confidence growing even more. That's exactly what he wanted people to think about him… was that he was brave, the bravest prince to walk in the kingdom. Talking about being brave, an idea clicked in his mind and he glanced around the area excitedly, "Hold on…" He said and Victoria tilted her head to the side, "WE MADE IT!"

"What?" She asked, feeling slightly confused and he got to his feet, limping over to the gate, and wrapping his bloody hands around the bars.

"This is the sealed gate!" He exclaimed and her eyes widened and she walked over to it, grasping the bars as well.

"All we have to do is wait for night time now, right?" She asked with a smile and he nodded, knowing that the dead couldn't harm them the way the wolves were able to, ghosts can only move right through you, but he knew it would still freak Victoria out, "What kind of dead is it?"

"There's kinds?" He asked while limping away from her, "What do you mean?"

"Oh..." She frowned and followed him, he could tell she still wanted to be with someone, anything is better than being alone, especially now, "You know... there's dead as in ghosts... the undead as in zombies and vampires..."

"Oh." He thought about that for a moment and then came to a conclusion, "I think it's ghosts, because my uncle said the 'dead' rise there, not the 'undead'."

"But sometimes it's all the same." Victoria stated with a frown and Drake sat down, only because he felt the need to, just in case they needed to run again.

"True, but... vampire's can't get in here." He said with a triumphant smile simply because he knew of such knowledge, "My ancestor made those bad monsters leave... as for zombies, I don't even think they exist."

Her eyebrows scrunched together and she tilted her head to the side out of confusion. "I always wondered why vampires weren't around here... I know they're evil and disgusting and hated creatures, but why did they HAVE to leave?"

He sighed heavily and noticed that the blood stopped oozing out of the cut, that was a good thing, besides, he didn't feel like being rushed to the emergency room for excessive bleeding, "My ancestor's name was Thaddeus Ashburn and when he was king, the vampires inside the kingdom murdered half of it." Victoria's eyes widened and he nodded his head, "And as he kicked the vampires out, he sealed the banishment with a curse or something... but they can't get in. Only an Ashburn can invite them."

"An Ashburn by blood or marriage?" She asked with a raised brow and Drake shrugged, he didn't know that much about it.

* * *

Glancing off in the far west, he noticed that sun began to set and his stomach was rumbling uncontrollably. "I'm starving..." He muttered and Victoria nodded her head, "I don't know... this doesn't even seem like a good idea anymore, I just wanna go home and eat."

"Tell me about it." She groaned and leaned backwards, "I'm so hungry I can eat a horse!"

"Gross." He grinned and she shoved him playfully, forgetting about his sore body. He winced and her eyes widened, clamping her hands over her mouth.

"I'm so sorry!" The brunette beauty frowned and he shook his head, silently telling her not to worry about it. "Look..." She pointed to the west and Drake glanced over that way, observing the colors, "The sun's setting... But... I don't see anything, Drake."

He rolled his eyes due to her impatience and laid down, his back practically seeping into the ground, and the prince fought the urge to shut his eyes and go to sleep right there. "Give it time, Vee."

"We have, Drake." Victoria tried to reason with her friend, letting him know that she just wanted to go home. "And there's nothing here. I think your uncle just told you about a legend that people believed in... I don't think the dead-" She was interrupted by growls again and Drake sat up quickly, his head smacking right into Victoria's, he hadn't realized how close she was. "OUCH!"

"Ow..." He muttered, his hand coming up and rubbing the spot that hurt the most, and burned with pain. Victoria repeated the gesture and he got to his feet remotely quick glancing around through the trees. "I don't see..." Then a wolf shot out from the bushes and almost landed on him, but the prince jumped back, dragging his friend with him. She held onto his arms tightly, not realizing the pain she was causing him, but he could feel her shaking, so he kept his arms around her as well. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" He tried, knowing that they were shapeshifters that could turn into a human and wolf whenever it pleased. No real wolf is that big, besides... he swore that he saw the one in the middle smiling.

* * *

**AN**: I love writing for Drake and Victoria, they're my favorite, especially when he saved her. :')

I also like writing for Ayden, he's sort of an interesting guy... We'll see how this goes :)

Elizabeth, Isabelle, and James were PISSED off that their kids ditched, and I thought it was funny how Isabelle and Elizabeth were all:

(**Isabelle vowed, then she made a face, "Maybe… Them being betrothed isn't a good idea after all."** _"Oh, I know." Elizabeth groaned, "Can you imagine what their kids will be like?")_ Loved those lines :P

So technically, this would be like Simba and Nala being at Elephant Graveyard right now, and Victoria's little trance thing is kind of like Nala's pinning. **(Just to keep you guys up to date;) I know your smart cookies though.)**


	7. Getting Caught

**Getting Caught**

Ayden walked home, deciding to ditch the park that everyone else decided to hang out at, he would have stayed, but Shayna and Cole wouldn't give it a rest. She accused Cole for having a crush on Victoria, and though he never admits it, Ayden can see it in his eyes and half of him wondered what Drake would think about this, but the other half just figured that Drake wouldn't care… He doesn't seem to care about much of anything or anyone except himself.

As the blond walked through the castle doors, he found his mother running up to him immediately, "OH THANK GOD." She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him.

"What's going on?" He asked, pulling away from her hug and examining her face.

She sighed at first and left the child wondering, "We checked this entire castle top to bottom, Ayden." Opal began and the young boy raised his eyebrows, "We can't find Drake and Victoria anywhere… Did they say where they were going? They've been gone _all_ day."

"Nope…" Ayden said softly and his eyes looked everywhere except his mothers, "I have no clue. They bolted out the door right after school and I was at the park hanging out with-"

"You're lying." She accused her son and his eyes widened, though he still decided not to look at his mother, "The school called and said that they never went to school today. They've been gone since this morning and I want you to tell me where they went or you will suffer the same consequences they will when they get their butts back in here, do you understand me?"

Ayden began shaking, and soon he and his mother were circled by King James, Queen Elizabeth, Isabelle, Phil, and Victoria's little brother, Nick. "Ok!" He exclaimed and watched as all of the adults simultaneously crossed their arms over their chest and the blond boy gulped adding the last part in a mere whisper, "T-They went to the sealed gate."

This took a moment for them to process, but when they did... "WHAT?" James bellowed and Ayden jumped. Frustration and anger took over the king's entire body and he looked down at the blond boy, whom knew more about the situation their kids were in, "WHY WOULD HE GO THERE?"

"I-I don't know!" Ayden exclaimed and he felt arms come around him immediately, trying to comfort him.

"Ayden, go wash up, ok?" Opal said and the boy nodded as his mother let go of him and watched him inch towards the marble staircase.

Isabelle glanced down at Nick who had a successful grin planted on his face, "You go upstairs too." She demanded over to her youngest child and he glared up at her through light blue eyes.

"Oh come on!" He groaned, "I wanna see Vee get in trouble!" Isabella gave him a stern look, and the youngest Morlet rolled his light blue eyes and added this last part in a mutter, "She always sits around and laughs at m-"

"GO." The ivory beauty demanded and her green eyes shifted over to the fairy who looked more worried than anyone else in the room, "Phil... Can you please watch the children while we go and help-"

"No." James stated and everyone looked at him with wide eyes, "_Phil _and I will go to the sealed gate." He replied and they all raised their eyebrows, "I want to talk to my son, and Isabelle, I'll send Victoria home as soon as we're close enough." Elizabeth and Isabelle nodded, but Opal was somewhat confused and before she could ask why he didn't want back up, he ran out the door with the tiny fairy fluttering after him.

"Isn't it not so smart to be out there by yourself right now?" Opal asked out of curiosity while leaning against the banister and Elizabeth and Isabelle remained quiet, hoping for the best.

* * *

The shapeshifters didn't answer the prince, instead they continued to growl, snicker, and step closer to Drake and Victoria. He kept a firm hold on the brunette beauty as she started shaking, both of there backs touching a tree that was nearby. The werewolf-shapeshifter that stood in the middle, leapt up into the air, and the one on its right, followed suitably. Of course, they never endangered themselves in shifting to their human forms, they would be afraid of going to prison for a very long time for wanting to assassinate royalty, and Drake knew this.

Before the shapeshifters landed, Drake and Victoria bent their heads at the same exact time, running underneath them and making a run for it, right past the third shapeshifter that never really did much of anything except growl and try to look menacing. Good versus evil, isn't that what it always comes down to? The prince had always thought that being bad was always fun and easy, and it is, but these monsters were the true bad creatures of the kingdom, and he didn't want to end up like this. Another thought that entered his mind... **_Is he going to turn into a werewolf?_**

"I don't understand what they want!" Victoria cried out, interrupting his thoughts and he shook his head TRYING to clear his mind. Glancing behind them, Drake's amber eyes caught sight of the three shapeshifters trudging through the forest. Leaves, grass, and twigs flew into the air and the prince's heart started to pound against his chest due to fear, because death was staring them right in the face. Turning back to look a head of him, a small shriek built up from the young girl and with quick thinking, he tugged her off path, hoping that would lose them, but they needed to keep going just in case the bird brains caught on. The brunette beauty panted and they slowed slightly, watching as the shapeshifters shot past the spot and continued forward. Relief came over both of them and her right hand touched his arm, and he glanced over to it, staring at her ivory hand, "H-Hows your leg?"

"It's fine." He lied, wanting to get off topic of bites and shapeshifters, all of the sudden anything furry made him cringe with hatred. Leaving her grasp, he limped forward and he heard footsteps follow behind him. Drake's eyes caught glimpse of something silvery and he realized it only looked that way because of the reflection of the moon, "Do they hate water?"

"It might slow them down… Why?" She asked and Drake motioned at a rather large pond that lay in the middle of the forest, it was filled with disgusting water, but they had no choice did they? "I am not… going in there."

"Vee, this is life or death!" He urged turning around to face her, but she continuously shook her head, "Why wont you do this with me?" Drake asked in a rather exasperated tone of voice, but he observed something shining in her eyes and rolling down her beautiful cheeks, "A-Are you crying?"

"No." Her voice cracked and an ivory hand rose up to her face, wiping away any evidence of tears. The beauty's light eyes glanced over to the prince and he gave her a knowing look, "I-I can't swim..." She admitted softly and Drake's face went soft with understandability. _That explained all the times she never went swimming with us_, Drake thought as he remembered Cole and Danny coming over to swim during all the summers. "Just don't tell anyone."

"… Vee, I didn't mean-" Howling entered both of their ears again and he realized that they must have sniffed them out and followed, "Victoria… Ok, time to concentrate again... LOOK AT ME!" The young prince's voice came off as urgent and her eyes widened as they poured into his, "You have to go back into that trance thing!"

"B-But…Drake, I don't even know how I-" The brunette began and he shook his head, not wanting to hear excuses.

"No… YOU HAVE TO." He stated and she looked at him with wide eyes, "…I believe in you, I know you can do it again!"

Victoria nodded and he backed up, giving her room, though, they waited patiently for the shapeshifters to arrive. The brunette took in a deep breath, trying to calm down as Drake glanced around for objects to use against them when they're vulnerable. Rocks… It would just bruise them… not slow them down. Kicking the leaves all around the grass he noticed a sturdy stick with a sharp tip to it, and he cocked his head to the side.

"D-Drake…" Victoria's voice was filled with panic, and she stood still, as if frozen with fright. He glanced past her, finding that the wolves were approaching with repulsive looking grins on their muzzles. The young prince glared at them through the shadows, watching as they stepped closer and closer to his best friend, "I can't do it…" She whispered while shaking in her spot, using too much magic for one so young or inexperienced was highly dangerous or even fatal. "I- I feel really w-weak…" The brunette's voice trailed off, but he didn't dare step out of the shadows that kept him well hidden.

The black wolf, which usually remained in the middle of the other two, crouched low to the ground and a snarl escaped its lips. The prince's amber eyes saw as her legs began shaking even more than when she was afraid, she didn't look frightened anymore, she looked fragile and exhausted and weakened by using too much magic. The black wolf shot from his low crouch, running straight towards her, leaping into the air with a giant snarl.

A scream escaped from Victoria as she covered her face and flinched away, but Drake jumped out of the bushes, pushing the wolf away with all the might that a ten year old could possibly have. This may not have worked if the wolf didn't leap into the air to form its attack. Once the wolf hit the forest floor, and Victoria stumbled backwards, he lifted the stick with the sharp end into the air and plunged it though his furry side, watching blood ooze onto it's black fur. This entire experience was foreign to Drake. He had never stabbed somebody before and he wasn't even sure if that stab did enough damage to kill him, but it was all for self defense and the young prince knew that. His father always told him that self defense is ok.

Quickly, Drake ignored the constant whimpering from the black wolf, and he ran to Victoria's side immediately, pulling her to her feet. Her light eyes were wide with surprise and the prince panted, "C'mon!" The two friends watched as the shapeshifters helped their other wolf friend, as if surprised that a ten year old would go to such measures, they didn't even bother to attack right now, maybe they were afraid Drake had another weapon in hand. He grasped his friends hand and they bolted into the night, running back towards home.

Ashton turned into his human form and grabbed the wooden '_knife_' out of his side, pain trembling throughout his entire body. Blood poured from the wound and he threw the bloody stick to the side while clutching it with his right hand, "How dare he do that to me..." He growled and slowly turned to Jason, who had a light brown coat. "GET THEM." The hurt shapeshifter demanded, "Right this minute I want that idiot prince dead. Not only for Scar... BUT FOR ME!"

Jason grinned as he remained in wolf form and he and Ed followed their footprints, leaving their fellow pack mate by himself to recover from the wound, which shouldn't take too long, they heal quickly. A sense of confidence washed over the light brown shapeshifter as he made his way through the trees, following the boy's scent. HE was going to be the one to kill Drake Ashburn, not Ashton... HE was. If Scar were watching right now, he'd be so proud... Maybe this would even make him second in command. With that thought entering his one track mind, he picked up on the running, his claws digging into the dry grass.

* * *

James ran through the forest, towards the destination of the sealed gate, but he looked up at the fairy as he tried to keep up, "PHIL." He commanded and the fairy glanced down at the king with worried eyes, "Pop in over by the gate... see if they're ok."

"You got it sire." He said and disappeared in an instant, though, the king kept moving forward, hoping his son and Victoria were all right. Terrible thoughts entered his mind, though, he pushed them away, hoping to stay more positive and that nothing terrible happened to his child and his friend. Almost instantly the fairy popped back and the king jumped slightly, only because of everything that is going on, and he glanced up wanting answers, "They weren't there sire! But I did see blood and it looks like lots of it!"

An eerie feeling crept over the king, but he kept moving finding his feet moving faster and faster, "Why did he disobey?" The king growled while clenching his fists due to complete anger bubbling in his body. While picturing Drake's body hurt and bleeding, this only made his legs move faster, and he felt himself break into a cold sweat, but he didn't care. He is going to find his boy alive, or there will be hell to pay.

"He disobeyed because it's Drake, master." Phil stated with a roll of his eyes, "When has that boy ever listened to the rules?" With that being said the fairy stopped, his beady black eyes wide and the king squinted, only to find two figures running towards them, though, they were oblivious to both of their presences. The boy who was the same exact height as the girl, had straight, dark auburn hair, amber eyes, which resembled his wifes, and the girl had ivory skin, light brown, shoulder length hair and greenish blue eyes. "There they are." Phil said softly and the king crossed his arms over his chest, and he watched as Drake plummeted to the ground, shaking his auburn head and coughing.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Victoria exclaimed, running to his side immediately, tugging on his arm, but he refused to let her help him, "Get up, Drake! Please!"

The prince shook his head, "Vee, I can't... M-My leg is killing me... it feels like needles are constantly poking it!" The king's eyebrows scrunched together and he glanced up seeing two shapeshifters chasing them. Anger bubbled through his body again and he stuck his hand out, whispering a spell that caught the shapeshifters in mid air. Drake and Victoria's faces matched, both were equally surprised.

The king walked over to them and the shapeshifters eyes widened, as did Drake's and Victoria's when they saw who really was behind the shapeshifters sudden immobility, "If you EVER come near my son again, there will be hell to pay… DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" James yelled and he broke the spell he had on the shapeshifters and they fell on one another, scampering, trying to get away from this area. They knew what the punishment would be… and that was death. Drake panted and looked up at his father who glared down at the young prince.

"Dad I-" He began, but James cut him off, causing the young prince to be taken a back.

"You deliberately disobeyed me." He snapped, and Victoria, who still knelt next to Drake, stared at the ground with a frown.

"Dad, I'm… I'm sor-" The prince tried, but his fuming father was angered beyond belief.

"LETS GO HOME." The king stated and started walking a head of them, not even bothering to help his son off the floor; Phil glared over to the two and flew after the king, hovering overhead. The two friends looked at one another with frightened eyes and Drake sighed, nodding his head and Victoria helped him up, allowing him to put some weight on her during the walk home.

Drake and Victoria kept their distance, though they remained quiet. The beautiful brunette glanced at her best friend with worried eyes, but Drake's remained on the ground, that suddenly became his new favorite spot. He broke away from her, wanting to walk by himself now, though she was hesitant about this. In the distance, he watched as James stopped dead and stood in the front lawn of the castle. "PHIL." The fairy's eyes widened and he flew down to see the king's face, "Take Victoria back to the castle doors... I want to teach my son a lesson."

The prince frowned and felt extremely frightened, Victoria watched as Drake's shoulders slumped over and a feeling of guilt washed through her, the brunette still felt somewhat responsible for this. The fairy flew over to them and nodded towards the beautiful brunette, "Come, Victoria!" He exclaimed and watched as she moved from her spot, heading towards the castle doors. "And Drake..." He patted his arm for support and sighed heavily, "Good luck." With that being said, he popped away from Drake and right above Victoria's head. The prince watched as she walked back and her eyes met his giving him a frightened stare.

"DRAKE." James' voice reverberated through the prince's ears and Drake jumped before making his way over to the angered man. A simple sigh escaped his lips as he made his way over there, and there was an area in the grass where there was just plain dirt, and the young prince could see his fathers footprint. A frown deepened and he stepped over the footprint, while making his way over to his father and standing next to him, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING TONIGHT? YOU PUT YOURSELF AND VICTORIA IN DANGER!"

"I-" Drake started and he took in a deep breath, tears flooding from his eyes, "I was just trying to be brave like you!"

"Drake, I'm only BRAVE when I HAVE TO BE." He stressed those words and the prince frowned, "I was scared out of my mind all day because I didn't know where you were!"

"You were?" Drake asked with wide eyes and the king nodded.

"I thought I lost you. Phil said there was blood by that god forsaken gate." The king sighed and Drake looked down at his leg, looking at the dark crimson seeping through his pants.

"D-Dad…" He began and the king looked down at his son, "Am I gonna die… or… or turn into a werewolf now?"

"What?" The king asked with a shake of his head, "How? it's not-"

"The shapeshifter bit me…" He bent down, rolling up his pant leg to reveal with deep wound, "Am I gonna turn into a werewolf now? I don't want to! If I do- please make it stop! Make it go away!"

"Drake, you aren't going to turn into a werewolf." He stated and the prince calmed down slightly, "The bite of a shapeshifting werewolf won't do anything. They're werewolf abilities were passed down generation to generation, a real werewolf is one that phases by the moon and when they bite… you turn into one, taking the other ones place." He paused for a moment and Drake sighed due to relief, "And you would know that if you went to school more often."

"Y-you know about that?" He asked with a frown and the king nodded.

"I know that you and Victoria ditched." He glanced at the castle and back to his son, "I know that you had detention yesterday and ditched to go to baseball… and I also know that you have detention all week."

The prince nodded with a frown, "I really didn't do anything wrong… my teacher just hates me." James gave a skeptical look and Drake shook his head, "I really didn't, dad. I walked in late because I was trying to keep my promise to you and be a good friend to Ayden, I showed him where our class was and I got detention, and when I tried to get out of it he went berserk on me!"

"Well, just know… you are still grounded the rest of the week, Victoria, your mom wants to speak with you as well." James replied and Drake frowned,

"Hey dad…" Drake smiled softly, happy to get the detention off his chest, "I think I know who was even more scared than you!"

"Oh really?" He asked with a slight smile, "Who?"

"Those shapeshifters!" He grinned and James smirked, a similar smile of Drake's.

"Because nobody messes with your dad…" He stated and Drake's eyebrows raised, "C'MERE YOU!" He gave his son a noogie and the prince tried to get away, though, he was laughing.

"NO!" He chuckled and his father let go and he began laughing and running away from his son. "Hey, c'mere!" Drake limped over to his dad, ignoring the pain, and he leapt onto him, tackling him to the ground. "Hey dad…" He grinned and then sat back in the grass, "We're pals, right?"

James chuckled and continued to lie back, "Right."

"And we'll always be together, right?" Drake asked with a grin and James sat up, a frown pulling on his lips.

"I thought I already told you about the great circle of life…" He began and Drake frowned, "Drake, my son, we will not always be together physically, but if anything were to happen… I'd always be there to guide you. You're _never _alone."

"But dad…" Drake said with a simple shake of his head, "Nothing bad is going to happen… Life isn't that unfair... Let's just say they don't have a mister Harris planning out your fate."

"Life can be very unfair, young Drake, and sometimes they do have mister Harris' planning out people's futures." James stated and the prince frowned, feeling no hope for the future, "Life is the wheel of fortune… a _leap of faith_ and a band of _hope_." He paused and watched his son intently, "And in this life… we are walking on a path that has yet to reveal itself… Drake, no one knows what life holds for us, and until that path unwinds, we will remain blind to it." The prince nodded, but he didn't want to know about how his future is going to plan out, "Look, some of us fall by the pavement, while others may soar to the stars. Some may sail through their troubles, and some have to live with the scars… but I want you to promise me something." Drake nodded again, allowing his father to continue, "No matter how bad life gets… Don't ever give up. Tomorrows another day."

"I wont." He stated and rubbed his tiresome eyes.

"That's my boy." He grinned and wrapped his arms around his son, "I love you, my son."

"I love you too dad." Drake replied with the same grin, "I always will!"

* * *

**AN: **:D I really liked this one. Drake was awesome when he stabbed Ashton, while I was writing this I was like... Wow, Drake's gonna be one tough adult. Just look at him now XDDD

Victoria is brave as well, but like Nala, she was frightened in Elephant Graveyard. And like Simba, when he saved Nala's life and clawed Shenzi in the face. Drake stabbed Ashton in the side with a wooden stick.

Ayden was scared to tell them the truth and he didn't want to rat out his new friends, but he needed to say something, and I love Nick :D He seems pretty cool already.

James was pissed, but I would be too XD **Anyway... Review, let me know what you thought about it. (:**


	8. The Dare

**The dare**

Jason and Ed phased back into their human forms, both of them stumbling towards their brother who was now standing with his arms crossed, "WELL?" Ashton asked impatiently and Jason's eyes glanced down only to find that the wound had healed. While making a face, he glanced back up at his brother and growled, shaking his dark head. "You have got to be kidding me." The eldest brother spat and started to pace, "Scar will END us, we have to find-"

"His father came, he's the one that stopped us… or we would have had them." Jason began and this made Ashton freeze in place, his black eyes widening, "He threatened us… I don't think we should do this anymore."

"If we back out now, Scar will _never _forgive us and we will lose our place in the castle when he becomes king!" Ashton hissed, getting in his brother's face. "Do I have to think for you as well?"

"**IF **HE BECOMES KING." Jason reminded his older brother that there still IS a king, placing his hands on his brothers chest and shoving him, "By the way this is going… Scar's plan is going to be huge FAILURE."

"Now, now now…" A slower and light voice approached their ears, all eyes widened and glanced up, looking at the sky as if to see a man on the moon, "Giving up so EASILY are we?"

"S-Scar…" Ashton began, but the impatient werewolf shook his head, jumping from the trees and landing on the ground lightly. He was growing stronger, that's exactly how the three knew a full moon was coming up.

"I can't believe you couldn't do the simplest task." The lanky man observed, glaring down at all three shapeshifters with disgust. "I practically gift-wrapped those KIDS for you and you couldn't even dispose of them."

"I would have had ONE of them." Ashton muttered and Scar growled glancing down at the crimson stain on his white dago tee. "Until your little nephew stabbed me in the side with THIS." The shapeshifter threw the sharp wooden stick over to Scar and he caught it swiftly.

"Looks like someone knew how to whittle." He observed the wooden stake and everyone looked at one another.

There was silence between everyone, until Jason decided to speak up, "Do you mean this wasn't there by accident?" He asked and Scar continued to examine the sharp object closely, ignoring the blood.

"Well come on." Scar said impatiently and held it out to them in the moonlight so they could get a better look, "It's perfectly carved, and no one here knows how to whittle."

"How would he have found it if this entire thing was planned by someone else?" Ashton asked while crossing his arms. "That thing was placed in the forest under leaves, he didn't have it the entire time! I bit him… he would have used it against me then… BUT THAT GIRL USED SOMETHING ELSE AGAINST ME."

"Against all of us." Jason reminded him and Scar raised his eyebrows, "But that's not the point. _Who _put this in his grasp?"

Glancing to the left, a chill ran up the werewolf's spine, "Can't say it was a godforsaken vampire who'd done it, but it had to be someone who knows what's going on." His light green eyes shifted to the right and left suspiciously, "Someone placed this here."

"But who would know how to do this?" Ashton asked, grabbing the stake he was stabbed with, "No one's dealt with vampires here before, no one needs to make a wooden stake... better yet, no one knows _how_ to make one this fantastic and detailed."

"Exactly." Scar muttered and Jason crossed over, shaking his head.

"The point is… If your little nephew was able to stab Ashton with THAT…" Points to the wooden stake, "What else will he do? What else is planned for _him_?"

"Huh." The werewolf replied in an isolated voice, going deep into thought, "I'll have to watch out for him… and I thought _he'd_ be the easy one… HOWEVER," He grinned while jumping on top of a boulder, watching as all three eyes followed him, "The full moon is coming very very soon, and we need time for a _new_ plan, of course... we all know that wood doesn't take down a _werewolf_..."

"What was the plan again?" Ed asked while scratching his head and Scar shot him a look of pure disgust, while the other two tensed up.

"FORGET WHAT IT WAS YOU BIRD BRAIN." He growled, making the slower shapeshifter jump, "Just remember what you need to know NOW. **FOCUS**."

"And what will that be exactly?" Jason asked, trying to take Scar's attention turn away from his youngest brother. The impatient werewolf whipped his head over to Jason, a slow grin pulling across his moist lips. "We tried to kill the kid today, failed, and in the next plan you were supposed to lure the king out here by saying you heard people found your stupid nephew." He paused watching as the lanky man's eyebrows lifted, "That OBVIOUSLY isn't going to work now, is it?"

"No." Scar stated with a firm nod and he placed his fingers on top of his chin, tapping it. "But something ELSE will." Again, everyone's eyes widened, wanting to know exactly what came next in this series of events. The sinister man grinned and bent his head as he begun whispering, and the shapeshifters drew nearer, growing more and more excited by this new plan.

* * *

The sun was beating overhead, causing the children to wipe sweat from their brows. For Drake, it's been the hardest week of his life, but being a strong kid, he made it through and felt much better by getting all the lies off his chest. "So what exactly did you do at the sealed gate?" Danny asked while hanging on top of the monkey bars.

The prince grinned over to him as he sat on top of the slide, "Well… Victoria and I didn't see any dead people, but there were these shapeshifters and they almost killed us!" There was a pause and Drake shrugged, "But we got away."

"Yeah right!" Cole called him out and Victoria crossed her arms over her chest, Ayden shook his head slowly. "You are so lying! You wouldn't have made it out alive if shapeshifters were trying to kill you!"

"Oh yeah?" Drake challenged with a grin and he lifted his pant leg, showing the gruesome looking scar, "Pretty gross, huh?"

"Whoa…" The boy's said simultaneously, both of them showing a hint of surprise and interest as their wide eyes fixated on it. "How did you get away?" Danny finally asked, his eyes meeting Drake's.

"Well…" Drake began, but Victoria decided to cut in and tell the rest of the story.

"He saved my life _twice_!" She smiled happily and Danny raised his eyebrows, while a look of envy shot through Cole. Ayden caught sight of this and frowned, deciding to look down at the ground. "The first time, the shapeshifters almost had me, but he pushed me in front of him and _he _got bit… The second time, the shapeshifter almost _jumped_ on me, but Drake stabbed him."

"Oh yeah?" Cole asked bitterly and Drake raised his eyebrow, "With what? A knife that you pulled out of your sock?"

"No…" He said slowly with a little shake of his head, "I saw a sharp stick on the floor… it was sturdy enough so I just used it against them." The prince paused slightly and smiled over to Victoria, "But she saved me too…"

"What did YOU do?" Danny asked with a grin and Victoria blushed slightly, the prince found himself slightly mystified by her beauty, but he quickly shook his head not realizing what was happening inside that confusing head of his.

"I'm not sure." She admitted with the same blush, "But I went into this trance thing… I don't even know how-"

"A trance?" This caught Ayden's attention and he looked up from the ground with wide blue eyes. Once the brunette nodded, he decided to ask another question, "What happened when you did it?"

The question made Victoria think as she tried to remember what they did and what their mannerisms were, "They looked like they were in pain." She replied proudly and Ayden nodded, going deep into thought to see if he knew what she was able to do at such a young age. "It was really weird." She giggled and Drake nodded, in total agreement.

"But I'm not complaining." He replied with a tiny smirk and she glanced over to him with wondering eyes, "If you didn't do it I'd be wolf food." A simple wink from the prince caused all the heat to rise to her usually pale complexion and a little smile spread across her lips.

"You were still much braver than me, Drake." She answered in a soft voice and Cole grew frustrated, kicking the wood chips with his shoe. The prince's eyebrows scrunched together and he glared down at his friend.

"What's wrong with YOU?" He asked bluntly and Ayden snapped out of it, hearing the sudden coldness in his friend's voice.

"I'm just sick of you always trying to get all the attention!" Cole snapped back to him and Drake growled, jumping off the slide and walking over to his friend. "You've always been such an attention seeker!"

"Well Danny asked WHAT HAPPENED!" Drake yelled back, growing annoyed by how jealous his friend was getting, "It's not like I just started talking about it!"

"I bet you didn't save Victoria because she's your friend! You saved her so she could talk to people about it later and tell everyone how GREAT you are!" The darker boy crossed his arms over his chest and Ayden's eyebrows scrunched together.

"Cole, she's my BEST friend!" The prince sounded exasperated and Victoria crossed her arms over her chest, glaring down at the darker boy, "I wasn't even thinking of being '_talked about'_… I saved her because I _care_ about her!" Ayden's blue eyes widened as he stared at Drake, this obviously was news to him that the prince actually cared about someone other than himself. To be honest, half of him thought that Cole was right, that Drake had saved Victoria for some publicity around the school and around the group, but something in the prince's eyes told the blond boy otherwise, and he decided not to question it.

"OH YEAH?" Cole yelled with challenging eyes and getting in his friends face.

"Yeah." He said in a normal tone of voice, not backing down, though he continued to glare up at him.

"I bet I'm braver than you." The boy grinned and Drake rolled his eyes, "C'mon… Let's see who's braver than who! We'll have a little contest or somethin'."

"I don't really CARE, Cole." The prince stated boldly, "If you think you're braver, than that's just great, but I need to at least stop getting into trouble right now, if something bad happens to me one more time, my mom will personally hang me from the top of the castle."

"You just don't wanna do it because you're afraid that I'm braver than you, you're afraid that people will like me more!" Cole pointed out this tiny statement and Danny made a chicken noise, which wasn't helping the situation. The noise reverberated though the prince's ears and frustration washed through him, that was enough. He was going to prove this kid wrong.

"FINE." Drake yelled and saw a smirk pull across Cole's lips, "Just be prepared to get whooped."

"Oh. No need for ME getting prepared." The boy grinned, and held out his hand for his friend to shake. Drake stared at it questioningly, "Let the best man win!"

"Oh…" Drake grinned and took his friend's hand, shaking it. "I _will_."

* * *

"And what are we doing here exactly?" Drake asked, looking around Cole's house, since he felt slightly uncomfortable. He didn't want to be here, especially after that one night when Cole's father found them walking back from baseball tryouts and beat his son as a punishment. Victoria was right by his side, their arms touching, though, Drake didn't notice, he was too freaked out about being in the same house as an abuser.

"The contest." Cole replied while walking into his dad's office, and shutting the door behind him. Drake glanced over to Victoria who was already looking at him. Silently, they spoke to one another, knowing exactly what the other was thinking: _Let's get out of here. A.S.A.P._

Ayden, however, didn't know about Cole's father, he only saw the bruise that was on the boy's cheek, but that could have been from anything. Danny sat down on a chair, his eyes alert, looking for Mr. Archer, hoping that he wasn't home.

"I don't understand why were here for the 'contest'…" Drake spoke softly so that Victoria could just hear him. She shrugged, but her heart was beating quite quickly, "What? To see if I can take a punch?"

"Drake!" Victoria whispered and shoved her friend slightly, watching as Cole appeared out of the office, holding a bag of something red and gruesome looking. "W-What is that?"

Cole ignored her question and Ayden's eyes studied the bag, "Drake…" He began and held the bag out, "I **dare** you… to drink this."

The prince stared at it for a moment, his eyebrows raised, "What is it?" He asked, grabbing a hold of the bag and examining it. To him, it looked like fruit punch, but thicker.

"Vampire blood." He grinned and Drake's eyes widened, almost dropping the bag out of his hands.

"AND HOW DO YOU HAVE THIS?" He asked as Cole rolled his eyes. Everyone in the room remained speechless. "I mean… I have to ask! It's not every day someone's carrying around a package of **VAMPIRE** blood in their houses."

"My dad likes to examine this stuff, he got it off someone who isn't from here. It's sort of a hobby of his." Cole admitted and motioned at Drake, "Drink up."

"Drake, don't do it!" Victoria pleaded while grabbing his arm, "You don't know what that'll do to you!"

"Its just blood, Victoria." Cole replied in an annoyed tone of voice, "He has blood in his body already!"

"But that's _HIS_ blood!" The brunette beauty shot back, and Drake shook his head, coming to the conclusion that this was a stupid idea, although, he needed to think of a good excuse to get out of this.

"No… I'm not drinking this… You're dad might get mad any-" He began, but the darker boy rudely interrupted him.

"Coward." Cole challenged with a giant grin and Drake glared at him, "I mean… if you don't wanna drink it that's fine, but I'll just tell everyone you're a big fat CHICKEN!" He began making chicken noises and the prince groaned while walking into the kitchen and stabbing a knife into the top part to create a small hole.

Drake walked back into the family room as all eyes watched him intently. Ayden and Victoria shook their heads continuously and a tiny smirk pulled across his own lips, "Bottoms up." He stated and put the bag to his lips, sipping on the blood for a minute, and swallowing hard. The prince brought the blood bag away from his mouth and began choking because at first it tasted repulsive, but the aftertaste gradually got better.

"Whoa…" Cole said softly and moved over to him to grab the blood bag away, "That's enough now… D-Drake?" There was a change in him, and the prince moved the blood to where Cole couldn't take it.

"Drake, are you…" Victoria's voice trailed off, mainly because Drake brought the blood back up to his lips and began _chugging_ it. "DRAKE! STOP!"

"WHAT IS HE DOING?" Ayden exclaimed, jumping to his feet along with Danny.

"Drake, the dares over…" Cole tried to grab it from him, but Drake shoved him away and continued to drink it all down. "What the heck!"

Once the blood was gone, the prince let the empty bag fall to the ground. While licking his lips, a different feeling came over him and he shook his head, as if coming out of a trance. Drake's amber eyes locked with Victoria's and then he saw everyone's face. "W-What happened?" No one spoke, no one blinked. They were all drunk with fear and they stood completely still, as if afraid he'd attack. The prince glanced towards the floor, finding that the vampire blood was completely gone and he gulped hard, feeling slightly nauseous. "V-Vic…" His voice faded as he stumbled forward, the room was spinning and everything seemed to be getting darker.

The brunette ran over to him immediately, knowing he was back to normal, and once he lost balance, he toppled over and passed out right in her arms. Victoria's greenish-blue eyes were wide with fear as she turned to look at Ayden, Danny and Cole. "HELP ME!" With that being said, the boys ran over to her, dragging Drake's limp body towards a couch and draping him over it. Anxiety washed through Victoria and she began shaking and her hands grew clammy.

"Victoria, calm down…" Cole's voice only made her angrier and she slapped him with her right hand, not bothering to hold back.

"THIS IS ALL _YOUR_ FAULT!" She yelled and his eyes widened, "YOU MADE HIM DRINK IT!"

"I didn't tell him to drink the whole thing!" He yelled back, rubbing the spot that Victoria hit him. "He did that part on his own! It was only supposed to be a sip!"

"Well there's obviously something in VAMPIRE BLOOD that makes people crave MORE!" She snapped and almost lunged at the poor boy. Ayden, however, was quite quick and before she could move, he grabbed a hold of her arms, pulling her back.

"Don't." He said softly, "You'll regret it once you do."

"HE DESERVES IT!" Victoria replied in an acidic voice and Cole frowned.

"Look, we could have all stopped him, but we didn't." Danny finally decided that it was ok for him to talk, "We're all at fault here…"

* * *

Moments passed and Victoria continued to pace the floor, staring at the clock and watching as it slowly moved to the number eight, they all needed to be home soon and Drake being in this condition isn't helping, "He's been out for four HOURS!"

"Drake…" Ayden whispered and shook him a little, "C'mon man… wake up."

"Is he even alive?" Danny asked with wide eyes and Ayden nodded. "How could you tell?"

"He's breathing." The blond boy added in a '_duh_' tone of voice.

"Oh…" Danny replied and Drake's eyes began to flutter. "Hey! Look!" He pointed and Victoria stopped pacing, and Cole looked up from the ground. "Guys, I-I think he's waking up!"

The brunette's mood changed quickly once Drake sat up on the couch and was conscious again. "D-Drake!" She flew to his side, throwing her arms around him, and he blinked quickly, "Are you alright?"

It took him a moment to respond, but there was nothing wrong with him. "I-I'm fine…" He stated softly, gently removing her hands from him and getting to his feet, "I feel … completely normal, actually."

"Do you remember what happened?" She asked quickly, feeling slightly confused and Drake nodded his auburn head.

"I drank the vampire blood." He stated firmly, "I just remember taking a sip though, the rest is all…" He made a face and sighed heavily, "Blurry."

"Well, you can walk right? Actually… run…" Ayden said and Drake's eyebrows scrunched together, "It's almost eight and we need to get back to the castle NOW."

"Wait, it's almost eight?" Drake asked with wide eyes and everyone nodded, "I've been out for THAT long?"

"Yes." All four of them said at the same time and Drake frowned. "But don't worry…" Danny began, "Just tell your parents you weren't feeling good, they wont ground you AGAIN."

"Let's hope not." He grinned and shot towards the door along with everyone else, leaving Cole by himself in the house.

* * *

As soon as they were alone, and Danny had gone inside his own house, Victoria and Ayden wouldn't stop asking him questions, it was mainly about how he felt or if he felt like he was going to vomit. "I'm FINE!" He groaned, shoving his blood stained hands into his pockets, "I don't know why I felt like throwing up earlier, but I'm completely fine now."

"If you're sure." Victoria replied, though, she never took her eyes off of him. She was probably afraid of seeing him faint again. "Are you going to tell your parents about thi-"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Drake exclaimed and Ayden nodded his head, answered the question for her, "If I tell my parents they'll wonder where the heck Mister Archer got that blood from and who knows what else they'll find out!"

"Well... That's exactly what I wanna know!" She frowned and shook her head, "What was he doing with vampire blood anyway? Cole says he got it from someone else not around here... That would only mean that Mister Archer is speaking with a vampire! Which, um hello, IS AGAINST THE RULES OF THE KINGDOM!"

"That is strange." Ayden admitted with a nod of his head, "Tell you the truth, I always thought vampire blood was blue..."

Victoria and Drake raised their eyebrows and stared at the blond boy for a moment, "Why?" They both asked at the same time and Ayden chuckled.

"Because it's not oxygenat-" They tilted their heads again and Ayden rolled his eyes, knowing they wouldn't understand. They school he used to go to constantly went over things like that at a very young age, he was smart for being so small, "I just thought it's because their hearts don't pump blood... they don't beat."

"THERE YOU THREE ARE!" Elizabeth stuck her head out the castle doors as the three walked over to them. Drake kept his hands in his pockets and the queen continued to keep the door open, watching as they all piled in the castle, "Did you have fun on your first day of freedom?" She asked her son and Drake smiled while nodding his head. _Back to lying again_... He thought with a soft sigh. "Good, I'm glad."

"I'm... really tired though." Drake yawned and shot towards the marble staircase, watching as Elizabeth, Victoria and Ayden watched him go, "Goodnight!" Before he knew it, he reached the top of the stairs and slipped into his bathroom, turning the sink on and placing his hands underneath it. "C'mon..." He groaned scrubbing at his bloodstained hands, "Please come out!" There was a knock at the door and the prince growled hoping it wasn't Victoria and Ayden asking 'how he was' again. "WHAT?"

"Honey, is everything alright?" Elizabeth asked and Drake's eyes widened, "You seem a little different."

"Different?" He asked, feeling slightly confused, "H-How?"

"I don't know... y-you're on edge about something... honey come talk to me, did something happen?" She was being pushy and the prince rolled his eyes, obviously feeling just fine.

"Mom." He stated firmly through the door as he continued to scrub his hands with soap and water, "I'm fine, really."

"Alright... if you say so. Now remember..." She said, trying to talk loudly over the running water, "Do NOT go outside at all tonight, there's a full moon out there." The prince couldn't hear her anymore, everything sounded muffled , but he figured it was her just being a mom and it was unimportant, so he just added this to shut her up:

"_ALRIGHT _MOM, GOODNIGHT."

* * *

**AN**: Uh-oh... Heres where things get interestingggg... ;D Scar and those shapeshifters... (Shakes head) who know's WHAT'LL happen lmao ;D

Why do you think Thomas Archer had the blood? and why was Drake downing it like it was fruit punch or something? Hmmm... (It was gross to talk about him drinking blood like that, but trust me, it'll all work out and you'll see why as the secrets unfold) :D and Cole is one jealous S.O.B. just sayin -_- I know people who are like that, and they are NOT fun to deal with.

Tsk, tsk Drake... you shoulda heard what your momma had to say instead of getting so annoyed and shooing her off like that. ):

ALRIGHT, until next time ;)

-Shadow.


	9. Light of the moon

**Light of the Moon**

"_A-And you're sure __**he's**__ the key to all of this?" A hooded man asked in a rather hesitant voice and the vampire's pale hand slid through the bars of the gate, holding a perfectly carved wooden stake._

"_Of course I am." The vampire that was outside the kingdom said lightly, though, the warlock was waiting for the explosion, he grabbed the wooden stake anyway hesitantly," I predicted World War One and Two, and the Twin Towers. Do you want MORE proof, Thomas?" Mr. Archer shook his head slowly and the vampire grinned, his auburn hair darkening with the environment around him, "Good."_

_"How will he find this?" Thomas asked out of concern and the vampire snarled, "I mean… it'll be hidden under everything and the forest is a huge place!"_

"_Thomas, Thomas, Thomas…" The vampire grinned and the warlock felt a chill run up his spine, "Why do you doubt me?" He asked lightly and the human shook his head, unable to answer such a question, "Is it because of how different I am of you?" The dark haired man shook his head again and the vampire continued, "Or is it because you are afraid to do your duties?" A pale hand reached through the gates, grabbing hold of Thomas by the throat, yanking him close to the iron bars, "Don't make me regret putting my faith in you, boy." He spat the word __**faith**__ and the warlock began shaking with fear, "You've heard the story plenty already, but you CHOOSE not to comprehend. This boy is the __**key**__ to my success. IF YOU PLACE THE DAMN WEAPON IN THERE HE WILL FIND IT, BELIEVE ME." He dropped his 'friend' and Thomas hit the ground and started crawling backwards, "Drake Ashburn will open the gates of the kingdom… __**forever**__."_

Drake awakened from this nightmare ten minutes to midnight in a cold sweat and he panted heavily, realizing that he must have passed out again, it wasn't unusal, after he drank that blood he's been hitting the floor a lot more than expected. The dream gave him chills that ran up his spine and he sat up slowly, figuring that the blood had really gotten to his head, although, he only was able to pick out bits and pieces of the dream, he couldn't remember the entire thing no matter how hard he tried; he only remembered hearing his name, and two hooded figures.

Standing up shakily, he made his way over to the window, ready to close the curtains and get back to sleep, but his curious eyes caught sight of someone, two someone's actually. His father and uncle were standing outside and they looked as if they were arguing over something. James threw his hands in the air and began walking away and into the castle, meaning he was done discussing the conversation, and Scar stood there looking peeved with a duffel bag wrapped around his shoulder. Drake's eyebrows scrunched together, and he observed his uncle turn around and stalk into the forest _alone_.

Being curious, Drake found himself unable to let this go. _Why was uncle Scar leaving?_ Drake thought, _I guess it's just apart of this family's little secrets, huh? _Feeling rather irritated, he heard footsteps brush past his door rather quickly and a tiny grin spread across his features, already setting a plan into motion. While glancing down at his feet, he realized that he hadn't taken his shoes off before, he just walked in, washed the blood off his hands, and passed out on his bedroom floor. _Great_, he thought, _Now I don't have to make time to prepare myself._

Swiftly, the young prince slipped out of his room, closing the door behind him and watching as his father stopped in front of the attic door and began messing with the knob. With caution, Drake crept along the wall and silently walked over to the winding marble staircase, running down it as quickly as possible. He had to stop his uncle from leaving._ Why my father would kick out his own brother is beyond me!_ Drake thought with a roll of his eyes and finally, he reached the bottom of the stairs, feeling rather victorious and brave, though, a sense of stupidity washed through him and he froze when he hit the last step. _What if something bad happens out there?_ He thought and glanced up the stairs, _Why am I doing this?_

"Who's down there?" A voice approached Drake's ears and the young prince panicked and shot towards the door, slipping out of it quickly and shutting it just as fast. He panted for a moment, a feeling of excitement flowing through him, but he couldn't give up now, he needed to keep going. For some reason, he couldn't stop himself from acting this way... He felt somewhat energized and stronger, though everything still looked dim even with the light of the giant full moon.

Before entering the forest, the young prince froze in spot and sighed gently, turning to look at the giant castle behind him, _Why am I doing this? _He asked, his eyes finally glancing up at the full moon above him, but a different voice entered his own mind... one that wasn't his, and it simply said: _Because you need to._

* * *

James walked down the stairs and watched as the decoration on the door swung gently to the left and right repeatedly. Someone was either in here or they _were_ in here and left; that much was obvious. The king shifted his dark eyes from side to side and he briskly walked over to the window, gazing out of it. There was something wrong… terribly wrong.

"James?" A soft voice said the king's name and he spun around finding himself face to face with Elizabeth. The queen of the kingdom pulled her housecoat on and walked over to her husband, only to go into his open arms, "What is it?"

"I just… I just had a fight with Jack." He admitted and Elizabeth tilted her head to the side. Once she opened her mouth to ask what it was about, the king already began talking, "He asked if tonight he could stay in the dungeon where the light of the moon wont show his _'true colors'_." The queen's eyes widened and James shook his head, "I told him no… that it's too risky… Drake, or any of the children, could be roaming around here at night, I don't want them exposed to such danger."

"I agree." Elizabeth groaned and rolled her eyes, "What? Is he stupid?"

"I think he's sick of turning into a werewolf every full moon." James frowned, trying to stick up for his little brother, "It isn't easy, Elizabeth, you and I both know the pain he goes through with every transformation. The missing people… some deaths… I don't know how he deals with it, but he's a strong guy."

"He's SICK of turning?" Elizabeth asked out of disbelief, "Then why did he name himself after the scar he earned by the first werewolf, hmm?" James opened his mouth, but found himself speechless, "And besides, it was his damn fault. Everyone knows not to go out there on a full moon! For heaven sakes, we have bells that chime giving everyone a warning when it hits midnight!"

"He was a teenager, Elizabeth." James snapped back and the queen sighed, "He and his friends were all looking for some adventure and he got into trouble with it. He deals with the consequences of his actions and not once, besides from today, have I heard him complain about it!" Elizabeth frowned and nodded her head, but the king continued on, "What my brother goes through, it's tough… it isn't easy… I would be down right frightened, but every full moon he goes out there and he's always by himself."

"He wasn't _always _by himself." The queen muttered and James gave her a look, meaning: **Don't go there, who knows who's listening. **The sound of bells chimed through their ears and the old grandfather clock let them both know it was now midnight. Elizabeth's eyes widened and James's heart began to race, it was always nerve wracking when you dealt with things such as this, not matter how many times it's been done before. "I'm going to go check on Drake… and make sure he's alright."

"Why wouldn't he be?" James asked with furrowed eyebrows and Elizabeth started up the stairs.

"I don't think he felt good when he got home today, he went right in the bathroom and went right in his room, there wasn't a peep… I'm guessing he's asleep." She stated and James nodded, knowing that was quite unusual of his son.

Once she disappeared up the winding staircase, James sighed and Phil, the fairy, popped over the kings shoulder, "Not to immediately frighten you, your majesty, but did I hear that young Drake isn't doing well?"

"Afraid not." He smiled softly and glanced up at his major domo, "He hasn't made a noise since he's gotten home... If I must say so myself, that isn't like him at all... We're always forcing him to go to bed at a decent-"

"Maybe that's because he isn't there." Phil stated and James's dark eyes widened as they fixated on the tiny fairy, but that was only until a scream interrupted the small stare down and James started up the stairs, Elizabeth meeting him halfway.

"HE'S GONE!" She exclaimed, "I know I shouldn't be freaking out like this, but it's a full moon out there… I-I mean he could be somewhere in the castle b-but-" The king cut her off with a kiss, though, fear struck him hard. Drake had been the one to leave… he's out there somewhere… and he needed to find him.

"Don't wait up for me." James stated and Elizabeth's eyebrows scrunched together. "Phil, stay with her… make sure she's alright."

"Yes sire!" He exclaimed while sitting on top of the queens shoulder. James opened the door and Elizabeth shot down the stairs, obviously a little confused and wondering why the hell someone would go out there during a full moon.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" She demanded, but it was too late, he shut the door behind him and sprinted off towards the forest.

* * *

The sound of chiming bells reverberated through the young prince's ears and his eyes blinked continuously, wondering how he had gotten here. While remembering bits and pieces, he saw images in his mind of his uncle leaving with a duffel bag, and him being curious as to why this was happening, but why on earth did he leave the castle and walk alone in the woods on a full moon? The prince's eyes widened as he looked up at the illuminating moon, a simple shake of his head erupting from a deep emotion within himself, "UNCLE SCAR?" His voice sounded terrified as he glanced around the pitch black forest, hearing little creatures of the night run around the area, moving leaves and sticks. "C'MON UNCLE SC-"

Screams of agonizing pain entered the young prince's ears and his heart began beating up against his chest. The hairs on his neck began standing up and he felt as if he may be sick. What if the werewolf caught his uncle? Stumbling backwards, he heard a spine chilling howl and Drake shook his head deciding he needed to leave, to forget about his uncle, about everything! Quickly, the boy turned around, but he heard something approach behind him and he whipped his head around only to find the three shapeshifters from a week ago. "Oh no…" He groaned and each of them wore smiles on their repulsive, blood stained, muzzles.

The prince turned his head back around and shot out of there, running in any which way, just to find safety. Snarls and howls came from behind him and once Drake picked up the pace praying that he would find a way out of here, but something jumped out in front of him, something he had hoped to avoid on this nights adventure. This thing was huge and grayish-brown in color, and as it stood on it's hind legs (Being half wolf half man) it reached about seven feet in height. It's freakishly long arms moved in front of him and the werewolf growled down at the prince, spit spilling from it's foul mouth.

Drake quickly came to a halt and suddenly didn't care about the shapeshifters catching him, he didn't want to be the next werewolf, and the young boy came to the conclusion that he would rather die. The werewolf leapt into the air and landed in front of his nephew, growing more and becoming more blinded by rage. He opened his jaws to take a chunk out of the prince, but Drake swiftly moved out of the way and started down the path, hoping to be close enough to the castle, but as he glanced around, he didn't realize how far he really had gone. Had be been in a trance the entire time?

The werewolf watched his nephew leave and a low growl escaped his lips as he charged after him. While the beast howled, the shapeshifters all joined in, coming up on Scar's sides and Drake found that he couldn't run anymore. With quick thinking, he ran to a tall tree and pulled himself up, while clinging to a tree branch. "HELP!" He called out, praying that someone would hear him, and the werewolf began clawing at the tree, jumping every which way just trying to reach Drake's flesh. When it's mouth inched towards his leg, the young prince lifted his leg, kicking the beast square in the muzzle. "TAKE THAT, FUR BALL!"

A whimper from the werewolf allowed the boy to know he had hurt it, but this would only make it angrier. The werewolf stumbled backwards, shaking his head, and then crouching low to the ground, getting ready to jump high. "DRAKE?" A voice called out and all the heads turned, including Drake's. "DRAKE ARE YOU OUT HERE?"

"Dad?" Drake whispered and saw as the shapeshifters and werewolf looked at each other and backed away from the tree, vanishing into the night. It took the prince a moment, making sure they were gone for sure, and when he saw no sight of them, Drake jumped down from the tree and saw his father's presence standing there, "DAD!"

"Oh, Drake thank God!" He grinned and opened his arms for his son to run into them. The young prince smiled happily and ran towards his father, but the werewolf shot out from the bushes, landing on top of the king, causing Drake to stumble backwards and scream loudly.

The king screamed bloody murder and struggled with the beast as it attacked him and ripped apart. Soon the resistance stopped and his father's arm fell limp to the ground, and tears formed in Drake's eyes, the prince clutched his chest as if touching his own heart and he felt weak, having the urge to collapse. _Is he dead?_ Drake thought and the werewolf turned his head, his yellowish-red eyes fixated on the boy.

The prince's eyes widened as he turned around and started running. Not exactly knowing where he was off too, he came to the conclusion that anywhere is safer than this, including being at Cole's house with his abusive father. Drake didn't want to be caught like _his _father had, he didn't want to be ripped to pieces and feel the pain that his father suffered and as the three shapeshifters and werewolf began following him, he noticed how messed up his sight really turned out.

Constant tears flooded from his eyes, blinding him from the path. While running away from the catastrophe, one of the shapeshifters caught Drake by his leg and decided to yank him backwards and drag him back towards the rest. The prince screamed and used his other leg to kick the idiot dog right in the muzzle, as its teeth sunk into the same exact spot it had before. It's like he was marked, or cursed.

The wolf whimpered and shook it's head but still wouldn't let go of Drake's leg. The prince grew frightened and an insane idea came to his mind as his back dragged across the bumpy path. Quickly, the prince sat up and dug his fingers into both eyes of the wolf, causing the idiot to let him go.

"That's the third time I got away from you." Drake said through clenched teeth and the dog yelped and shook his head. The prince glanced down at the ground finding a branch and while using a new strength he never realized he had, Drake used the branch like it was a bat, sending the wolf to skid across the floor, "I wouldn't try it again…" With that, he felt weaker again and decided to throw the branch to the side before taking off once more.

As he ended up close to the sealed gate, he realized that he had been running in the opposite direction of home, but something else stole his attention as well. While brushing tears away from his amber eyes and he saw a hooded figure standing outside the gate, but the dark figure was completely still, staring at Drake through his electric blue eyes, and a familiar crooked smile plastered across his white features. Drake's eyebrows scrunched together and realized that was the man from his dream! This thought only lasted so long since his foot caught a root that was sticking out of the ground, and the young prince plummeted into a deep hole, falling head first, coming face to face with death, before breathing his last, he heard a loud CRACK.

* * *

Jason, in his wolf form, ran over to his brother's whimpering body, and nudged him slightly. The shapeshifter phased back into his human form and he shook his head roughly, actual tears rolling down his face. "I-IT'S LIKE THAT KID'S TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE!"

The middle brother rolled his eyes and phased back into his human form, glancing down at his brother, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"He had TWO DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES!" Ashton exclaimed while wiping away the wetness, "He was afraid... I bit him again, he stabbed me in the eyes, which is a defense mechanism... BUT AFTER THAT HE THREATENED **ME**, AND HIT ME WITH A FUCKING BRANCH."

"A ten year old kid threatened you?" Jason grinned and crossed his arms over his chest, "Are you growing soft, Ash? I think you need to let someone who will get the job done step in."

"Can you shut the FUCK up for TWO SECONDS?" Ashton growled, getting to his feet and shoving his brother with the strength he had left. "DON'T BELIEVE ME? LOOK AT THIS." He lifted the side of his dago tee and it showed a nasty looking bruise. Jason winced and his eyes widened. "Oh, look who's afraid now..."

"Maybe it was adrenaline." the middle brother stated with a sigh, "I mean come on! How the hell do you expect a little ten year old kid, to hit like a man?"

"I don't know, but that's the last time I'M goin' after him." He growled and Jason raised his eyebrows, "He's all yours next time."

"NEXT TIME?" Jason asked with wide eyes, "YOU MEAN AFTER ALL THIS, WE STILL NEED TO FIND HIM?"

"Scar wants to become king doesn't he?" Ashton asked, shaking the pain out and trying to walk it off, "He isn't going to stop until he does... Even if it looks suspicious."

The middle brother moved from his spot and sat down on a rock, "Was this even part of the plan? I thought Scar was going to tell him about some 'big surprise' and lead him into the forest, not have him seperate... NOT THAT IT DIDN'T WORK OUT WELL ANYWAY, but we still didn't end this kid!"

"We will..." Ashton stated and spit on the ground, "We will find him... tonight... and it isn't going to be just one of us... OH NO..." The eldest brother grinned causing Jason to raise his eyebrows, "All three of us need to dog pile... Tonight, Drake Ashburn dies, and that's a promise."

* * *

**AN:** Well, Drake Ashburn DID die, but not by anyone else's hands... it was all an accident. ... Or is he dead? ): Hhmmm, so many questions, so little time...

James' death was quick, but honestly, how long would you drag out and say that the werewolf attacked him and he died? Hmm? Lmao, and Drake was a little bad ass, though, something tells me it wasn't all truly him.

Drake mentions earlier that he was in a trance, he keeps passing out, seeing images in his head of people he doesn't know... seeing events he wasn't physically apart of... then just before he falls into the deep hole, he sees the 'familiar hooded figure with electric blue eyes' does this ring a bell on who that might be?

So from the dream in the beginning, we get that Thomas Archer, Cole's father, is working for the vampires and we get that Drake is the 'key', but what exactly needs to happen in order for him to step up to become the key of success? Did Cole know about this or did this happen by chance?

**QUESTION FROM NALA-NAY:**

_**And the attire for their school:**_ I think they can just wear regular clothes, no uniform :)

Well, let me know how you liked this... Next chapter, we'll see exactly what happens to our wonderful Drake ;)

-Shadowlandx0


	10. Inject thy head with lies

**Inject thy head with lies**

Queen Elizabeth pulled her housecoat on tighter, brushing her straight, dark brown hair out of the way; her amber eyes sparkled with worry as she glanced out the window. "It's almost three o' clock in the morning." Her voice sounded isolated and frightened at the same time, "Phil, I'm scared."

"Don't worry, your majesty." Phil said quietly, though, he was doing the exact opposite of his advice, "I-I'm sure everything is just fine…"

"You seem very sure." Elizabeth stated sarcastically and the tiny fairy shook his head, resting against the back of the couch. "The werewolf should be back in his human form by now… This isn't right! BESIDES, I specifically told Drake not to go out there, even if he had IDEAS!" Phil glanced over to her and opened his tired mouth, but the queen continued on, "He knows that full moons are dangerous! WHY WOULD HE GO OUT THERE?"

"Madam, if I have permission to speak…" The fairy said dully and the queen nodded her head, "Young Drake wasn't ever one to follow the rules, perhaps it is time to tell your son the truth about his uncle."

Elizabeth's amber eyes widened, "Y-You mean-"

"Yes, I do." Phil stated firmly with a simple nod, "You need to tell Drake that his uncle is a werewolf, we wouldn't want history to repeat itself do we? Besides, who knows, before Scar had left, Drake could have saw him leaving and went with…"

"But why would Scar want Drake to be with him?" The queen's normally friendly eyes tightened with rage and the fairy shook his head.

"Forgive me, I must have not been clear… Drake must have seen his uncle leaving and trailed behind him. Scar was unknowingly followed." Phil replied and Elizabeth shook her head out of disgust.

"Well, I guess Drake knows now…" Her amber eyes glanced out the window again and she sighed heavily, "He is never going to forgive me…"

"Yes, he probably saw his uncle as the werewolf, but honestly, how would he have gotten away?" Phil asked and Elizabeth's eyes widened, "Your son… he may be the new werewolf."

* * *

Rain drizzled from the dark and gloomy sky as the young boy's head rolled from side to side, his face getting pelted with little raindrops. Drake Ashburn lay at the bottom of an awfully deep hole and his amber eyes fluttered open, fixating on the sky…observing everything above him with such excellence that it frightened him. The boy groaned and placed his hands on his sides, preparing himself to sit up, but instead the mud from the rain seeped through his fingers. "Ugh." He groaned, but didn't bother to move them away from the mud; he had absolutely no strength left. "H-Help…" The boy's voice grew horse and there was a sharp pain in the back of his throat that penetrated all the way down, making his lungs freeze. "Help…" The boy tried again, this time, he somewhat found his voice, but if anyone had been passing by, they still wouldn't have heard it.

Allowing a simple cough to escape his dry lips, the boy sat up slowly and leaned his back against the muddy walls. _How did this happen?_ Drake thought as his amber eyes scanned the deserted area, looking for clues that would jog his memory.

The memories have been completely erased from his mind, of course, he knew who he was, what his status in the society was, but anything that happened since passing out in the castle, he couldn't remember. Glancing down at his hands he noticed that his usual light olive skin tone, was now pale white, and a hooded figure popped into memory, making remembrance flood back to his blurry mind:

As the boy ran from the shapeshifters in the night, everything felt completely still, though, something had told him to look up and once he did, he saw a hooded figure standing by the sealed gate. His electric blue eyes frightened the boy, the crooked smile making him think he was up to no good, and his pale white skin making Drake think he just wasn't human. All the boy could hear was his heavy breathing not even the sounds of growling mattered.

Once the kid observed all those things, his foot caught hold of a root that stuck out from the ground, and as he plummeted head first into the hole, in slow motion, he couldn't help but think that no matter how many times he's escaped death, it was now coming back to **bite** him. As the young prince hit the bottom, he remembered that everything was nice and easy, a cracking noise approached his ears, and then… he was gone…

Lightening grabbed the attention of the young boy and he shook his head, his amber eyes fixated on the pale white pigment he had for skin, "I _died_?" He asked out loud, but to no one in particular, and watched, as the rain had gotten heavier. Staring up at the sky, Drake observed that his vision had become so spectacular and sharp, that he could see each and individual raindrop. His pale hands grabbed hold of the unsteady dirt around him and he tried to pull himself up, but the rain made everything fall apart easily, "…NO." He groaned and felt tremendously weak as he allowed himself to fall backwards, his head resting against the dirt gently. "HELP!" He yelled as the rain hit his face and watched as lightening illuminated overhead. "ANYBODY!" He cried and shook his head, his bangs hanging in his amber eyes. "Help…"

There was a moment of silence, but through the constant noise of rain and thunder, the boy could hear footsteps walk over to the hole, and weirdly enough, the prince had hope, "Drake." A horse voice approached Drake's ears and he saw his uncle Scar standing there, cocking his head to the side our of pure confusion. The lanky man's clothes were ripped, blood spread across his face and Drake's eyebrows scrunched together. _Why did he look that way? _He thought as he got to his feet. "What have you done?"

"W-What?" Drake asked and shook his head continuously, "I- I don't remem-" Going into somewhat of a trance, his eyes fixated on the blood that was on his uncles face, then his eyes moved down to a giant vain in the lanky man's neck, all he heard was a heartbeat, but that's all he wanted to hear...

"YOU KILLED YOUR OWN FATHER." Scar growled and this snapped Drake out of his trance rather quickly, "What is your MOTHER going to think?"

"W-WHAT?" Drake asked, and remembered last nights events quite well… running through the forest, practically leading his father to his own death… distracting him, not intentionally of course, and watching as the werewolf jumped out from the bushes and ripped him to pieces. "NO!" He screamed and shook his head over and over, tears spilling from his eyes. "NO!"

"You…. KILLED him." He growled and Drake shook his head again, unable to believe that his father was actually dead.

"W-WHAT SHOULD I DO?" the young boy asked, giant tears spilling down his face as Scar stuck his hand out for his nephew to grab. The prince grabbed a hold of his uncle's hand, and when his deranged uncle pulled his nephew up he let go of it quickly, shaking his head in a rather disappointing way.

"Run… Run away, Drake." He said in a soft, yet persuasive voice, "Run away and _never_ return." The boy's eyes widened, but he nodded his head knowing that he wasn't welcomed here anymore, that **he** was responsible for his own father's death. Scar watched as his nephew began running away rather slowly due to being exhausted and once the three shapeshifters approached behind him, the lanky man grinned sinisterly and looked back at them. "Kill him." He said lightly and the shapeshifters phased into their wolf forms, holding sticks that were dipped in poison.

Growling entered the young boy's ears and he turned his head quickly seeing the shapeshifters following him. His eyebrows scrunched together as a different kind of smell entered his nose, though, he couldn't tell exactly what it was, and it just smelled dangerous.

Instead of stopping and fighting back, Drake continued to run for their own amusement, but once they grew closer and closer, instincts took over and Drake jumped into the air, leaping over obstacles that he never knew he could even jump over and in a blink of an eye, he noticed that he was right by the sealed gate. Quickly, his hands grabbed hold of it, jiggling the handle, but it wouldn't open… so instead, he leapt into the air, landing perfectly on top of the iron gate and his amber eyes glanced back at the kingdom. _This isn't a home anymore_… He thought, and took a step forward into mid air, landing on the green grass of the human world… A deranged world.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?" Jason asked while phasing back into his human form, "HOW DID HE RUN OVER THERE SO QUICK?"

"I told you there's somethin' freaky about him." Ashton replied he too phased back into his human form, dropping the sticks on the ground, "From the moment he hit me with that fifty pound branch, I knew there was somethin' up."

"I really doubt it was fifty pounds." Jason rolled his eyes and Ashton shoved his little brother. "WHAT? He can't help it if you're a wimp!"

"Oh, I'll show yah a wimp…" The eldest brother muttered while shaking his fist.

"HEY." Ed screamed and the two brothers raised their eyebrows, staring over to him, "WE GOTTA TELL SCAR HE LEFT!"

Ashton and Jason shook their heads at the same time, both their eyes widening, "NO!" They exclaimed and Ed took cover due to their outbursts, "I-I mean… He can't know we lost the kid again… this is like... the eight thousandth time!" Jason frowned and kicked a rock into a nearby pond.

"T-Then what do we say exactly?" Ashton asked his brother and watched as a shadow loomed over them when the lightening struck, "H-Hi Scar…"

"SCAR…" Ed and Jason said at the same time. The lanky man's light green eyes poured into the three shapeshifters and he carried his duffle bag around his shoulder, pulling out normal looking clothes and a towel to wipe the dried blood off.

"Is it done?" He asked with a repulsive smile, "Is my nephew finally dead? Gone forever?"

The three exchanged looks with one another, and added at the same time a "YES."

"Good." The new king grinned and looked down at the three of them, "Let's go home boys…"

* * *

Victoria, Nick and Ayden all stayed close in one line, standing on the soaking wet lawn, watching as Elizabeth, Isabelle, Opal and Phil spoke with one another in a circle. The queen looked quite upset and kept moving her hands as she spoke to the others around her. "What do you think happened?" Ayden whispered, watching as Victoria and Nick glanced over to him, "I mean… They're saying Drake ran out there…"

"That blood made him crazy, that's what happened!" She stated and shook her head, "He shouldn't have EVER drank that."

"W-What did he drink?" Nick asked with wide ice blue eyes and Victoria shook her head, finding herself unable to talk… she wouldn't be able to talk until her friend was right beside her again…

"He drank vampire blood, Nick." Ayden replied and watched as the boy's eyes widened even more, "We think it turned him into a loon, but you can't tell anyone… got it?"

"My lips are sealed." He nodded and tears began to form in Victoria's eyes as she watched two figures appear from the forest. It looked like Scar carrying a rather muscular body, and the lovely brunette somewhat pictured her friend to be walking behind them.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Elizabeth exclaimed, running towards Scar , clutching her robe closed. "I-IS HE ALRI-"

"Elizabeth." Scar said softly, sliding the former king off his back gently, "It pains me to say this, but the king is _dead_." She shook her head over and over, as if unable to comprehend it. He was there, and suddenly he wasn't? "And your son…"

"PLEASE…" She exclaimed, clutching Scar by his hands, "TELL ME HE'S OK. I CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE NEWS HAVING TO DO WITH DEATH…"

Scar put forth his best acting face and his arms silently wrapped around the former queen, "I'm sorry, Elizabeth…" He replied in the same voice, "But he has been murdered as well."

"MURDERED?" She asked and shoved him away from her, "I thought you had done this!"

The lanky man's bright green eyes widened and a hurt expression formed over his features, "Now, Elizabeth. I may be blinded by rage as a werewolf, but I do know what my targets are." He paused and watched as she almost collapsed out of pure pain, "Everyone was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Someone murdered the king and prince, and I will get down to the bottom of it, believe me... this was my brother and nephew after all."

Victoria eyed them from across the lawn, and her mother kept her arms around both children. The young girl observed how broken the queen looked, and her light blue-green eyes fixated on the king, from there, she knew he was dead. "W-What about Drake, mom?" Victoria asked with a frown and Isabelle shook her head, watching as Scar picked the king's limp body off the wet ground, and he and Elizabeth came back.

Phil, Opal and Ayden frowned, while Isabelle cried and held her children tight, "The king is dead…" Scar announced over to everyone and they all bowed their heads, "And as for young Drake… there was blood everywhere, I believe an animal must have taken his small body off somewhere… He's dead as well."

The brunette's heart sank and Victoria's eyes widened as she watched everyone break down right in front of her. "NO…" She whispered and broke free of her mothers grasp. "DRAKE!"

"VICTORIA!" Isabelle screamed, and Scar placed the king down, chasing after the little girl so Isabelle could watch after her other child.

"DRAKE!" Victoria shouted again and finally collapsed on the wet ground. Feeling hands come around her to try and pick her up she screamed at the top of her lungs, shoving whoever was trying to take her away from the grass. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Victoria, your mother is hurting enough, you don't want her to be upset about you running off all alone as well, do you?" Scar asked and Victoria shook her head, feeling somewhat guilty for not putting a stop to Drake drinking the blood herself, but she was just so shocked as how much he was downing… "Come now…"

"NO." She yelled and shoved him away from her again, "DON'T TOUCH ME."

"I'm sure Drake would want you to go inside." He said softly and her puffy red eyes glanced up at Scar, "He wouldn't want you out here all by yourself, making the same mistakes he did… that'd be tragic." With a reluctant nod of her head, Scar picked her up because she decided that walking was not something she was willing to do right now, and he headed back towards the castle, passing Elizabeth who had been hugging the body of her dead husband, crying.

The brunette frowned and her mother's eyes watched as Scar carried off her little girl into the castle, while keeping a strong hold on Nick. Ayden, however, his eyes looked sad as he frowned and little tears spilled from his eyes, she could tell even if the rain was pouring against his light olive skin.

* * *

Out in the forest area, in a little hut, Asaka grew dreary and knew something was wrong because the winds have changed. While walking over to her table of magic, she picked up different potions and carefully mixed them, only to find out the terrible news.

Her dreadlocks fell into her face as small tears escaped her dark eyes and she shook her head while crossing her arms over her chest, "Oh James, what have you left us wit?" She asked and glanced over to a picture she drew of the prince. She had only seen him once or twice, but had a great feeling about him ever since he was born. The feeling stated that he would be a strong, excellent and fearless leader… though, sometimes, visions can fool a person.

Reluctantly, she swiped a dark hand over Drake's drawn picture and a small teardrop fell from her dark eyes. "You had big plans, my boy." She talked to the picture, as if he would hear her, "But it is all too late now, you are gone and in de heavens wit de king." A simple sigh escaped her lips and her dark eyes glanced out the window, "Unless der is some miracle you escaped deat, we are all doomed."

* * *

As Drake ran from the kingdom gates, he sprinted until he found himself far enough to where he could actually breathe again. Without realizing it, he came face to face with a massive amount of trees and he figured that he was in the human's forests, but their forests were much more normal and _safer_.

Breathing heavily, his sharp eyes scanned the area, though; they started becoming more and more clear and extraordinary, making his head pound, everything was almost **too **fine. Creatures of the night walked around him and his acute hearing made him growl and yell out in pain as he shut his eyes tightly. "MAKE IT STOP!" Drake screamed and his pale hands came up covering his ears and finding that his legs were growing weaker and weaker every second. The sounds of hooves stampeded all around him and the young boy's amber eyes popped open as a feeling of thirst washed through his entire body, making the back of his throat burn with want and desire. A tingling feeling swept through his mouth, and then the worst part was yet to come… The young boy's canine teeth were being yanked and practically pulled, it felt as if a dentist took a wrench and started pulling at ones teeth without numbing the gums. A blood-curdling scream escaped from Drake and his knees met the ground as he placed his pale hands over his mouth.

The pain was so excruciatingly agonizing that it made him blind to the life all around him, the only thing he was able to focus on was the burning and constant hammering inside his body as it went through different phases and changes. Feeling as his entire body hit the ground, tears rolled down the young boy's face as he started screaming again and moving his body in an uncontrollable way. "M-MAKE IT STOP... PLEASE!" He shook his head quickly, his hands starting to tremble from the constant throbbing and suddenly everything subsided in an instant, allowing him to breathe again.

Drake panted heavily and decided to lay there, that getting up right this instant wasn't worth it. Feeling around his mouth with his tongue, the young boy came across two long, razor sharp teeth and he gasped as a chill ran up his spine. _What is going on?_ He thought with slight frustration and the sound of feet shuffling in the leaves were behind him, making his body tense and sit up slowly, "Um… Hello?" A female asked while cautiously walking over to the ten-year-old boy, who continued to sit and stare ahead. Her brown eyes fixated on the back of the boy's head and her heart began pounding in her chest, he heard it perfectly... "Honey… are you lost? I'm camping… just over there…" She pointed, but he still didn't turn around. "Sweetie, do you want to tell me your name?"

"My name…" He started to say slowly, and she nodded, watching as he got up at a regular human's pace. Once he turned to look at her, looking completely normal, she calmed down, though there was something in his eyes that still had her on edge. Ignoring the name question he smirked a crooked smile and began walking towards her, his amber eyes fixated on her creamy neck, hearing her heart beat faster and faster. "What's that smell?"

"W-What smell?" She asked hesitantly with confused eyes as she started backing up, but in an instant, he was right in front of her. This caused her to stumble backwards but he grabbed a hold of her arm, pulling her towards him with inhuman strength. "KID, W-WHAT ARE YOU-"

"Don't worry." He said soothingly and interrupted her as the woman's eyes widened with fear, "It'll all be over soon..." And with that, he jumped on her, sinking his teeth into her neck and sucking out the blood. The only thing that escaped out of her mouth was a blood curdling scream, but even that was short lived as her limp, shriveled up, body fell to the ground, and the young boy lifted his head, smirking sinisterly as the sweet crimson dribbled from his mouth.

* * *

**AN:** Well... Can we guess what Drake is ;) It may not be **EXACTLY **what you think... and just so we're clear, he isn't a murderer, he can't really help himself right now... /:

Writing for Victoria, I wanted to cry ): She had a crush on her best friend and now he's 'dead', lets see where this all goes ;)

Scar = asshole... I'm not even gonna go there about him and everything about what Drake is will be explained soon, but for now he's just as clueless as we are. Even though you think you know what he is... just remember, he had no encounters with an actual vampire, he didn't get BIT.


	11. Goodbye to you my trusted friend

**Goodbye to you my trusted friend**

"We are gathered here today…" Scar began as the summer sun beat down on all of their heads, the entire kingdom crying and holding one another, "To remember the loss of a wonderful king, brother and husband…" He motioned towards the casket and heard Elizabeth's cry, "And a great prince, child, nephew-" His eyes caught Victoria's and she frowned instantly, "and friend… Drake Ashburn." Victoria's wet eyes glanced over to their teacher, Mr. Harris. He frowned and kept his head down, as the other teachers around him didn't look as upset, the young brunette figured it was because he had been the hardest on him and prayed that he wouldn't get him again as a student… God has answered his prayers.

"Hey…" Ayden whispered over to Victoria and she glanced to the side seeing that the blond boy was right behind him, "Look who made it." His light olive finger pointed towards a crowd of people and the brunette's blue-green eyes fixated on Thomas Archer and his son.

"Wonderful." She said through a broken voice and sniffled due to all the crying. "I hope he chokes."

Ayden's blue eyes widened as they fixated on Victoria, "Victoria, I wouldn't say-"

"SHHH." Opal exclaimed, pulling her son back so that he was sitting next to her and unable to talk to anyone as the precession was going, half of Victoria felt pleased as she watched Scar continue on talking about the deaths of his brother and nephew, but the other half wanted this entire day just to be over so she could start moving on.

"James's death was a terrible tragedy, but to lose Drake, who had barely begun to live?" He shook his head and forced tears spilled from his light green eyes. "James died a hero, he gave his own life to save his son… but alas, both are dead." A frown tugged on Scar's face and Victoria's head hung as tears rolled down her cheek, "For me, it is a deep, _personal_ loss… So it is, with a heavy heart, that I assume the throne." Everyone glanced up at him, their eyes boring into his light olive skin, "Yet, out of the ashes of this tragedy, we shall _rise-_" Shadows from the sun allowed Victoria to fixate on three men that joined his side immediately, grinning to themselves, "To greet the dawning of a new era! In which witches and warlocks come together with shapeshifters and WEREWOLVES in this great and GLORIOUS FUTURE!"

* * *

Two dark eyes were glued to the T.V. as a news reporter began talking about a recent death. "Three bodies found dead in the Burenzine woods, all three of them were bitten and drained of blood. Investigators say that this was an animal attack and that all people should either stay out of the woods at all times or just be careful, the beast is still out there and hasn't been caught-"

A pale hand flipped the T.V. off and a darker man with long, stringy, black hair fixated on his friend with wide eyes. "D-Do yah think the animal is still out there, Riley?" Evan asked and the shorter man, whom had fiery red hair, pale skin and dark brown eyes jumped to his feet, grinning broadly.

"Of course it is, Evan!" He exclaimed and the other man raised his eyebrows, "But **WE **are gonna go out and find it? Can you imagine?" He paused and watched his friends reaction at first before adding this last part, "WE'LL BE HEROS!"

"But what if we get killed?" Evan asked with wide, scared eyes and the fiery redhead crossed his arms over his chest, sighing out of pure annoyance.

"My dear friend, Evan… We're not gonna get killed…" He smiled and glanced to the side eying an object that was hanging on the coat wrack, "We have shot guns."

Whenever Riley set his mind to something, there was absolutely no way to change it, but Evan was going to try, "B-But what if it's not eno-"

"YEESH, hakuna matata, Evan! No worries! Isn't that what your great…" His eyes shifted from left to right and added the last part in a mutter while deeply thinking, "…someone said…"

This caused some anger to bubble up inside the bigger male and he rolled his eyes only because he and Riley have been friends since kindergarten, "MY GRANDFATHER, RILEY!" Evan yelled and Riley snapped his fingers ignoring his friend completely.

"Got it! It was your grandfather... how could I have forgotten that one?" The redhead knocked on his own head, as if that would help for next time he forgot something he thought was unimportant, "I must be loosin' it… Ah well, at least I remembered. That's all that counts."

"Well you definitely are loosing it if you want to go out _there_!" The darker man grumbled while crossing his thick arms over his chest and glaring down at the floor, "I don't understand why you want all this attention…"

"TO BE SOMEBODY, EVAN!" Riley exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, "C'mon! This could change our lives _forever_!"

The fiery redhead shot towards the door while grabbing his hunting shoes, hat and shotgun as Evan continued to sit on the couch, but this time his eyes shifted towards the ceiling of the boarding house, "Oh lucky ancestors… please help me… my best friend has lost it once more."

"Oh for cryin' out loud, Evan… How lucky can they be?" He paused and stared at his friend, "They're dead." The bigger man shot Riley a look and the eighteen year old redhead shrugged his shoulders throwing his friend his hat and shoes. "Better get goin'… I wanna be back in time for lunch."

"Can we eat out today, Riley?" Evan asked with hope filled in his dark eyes and the redhead shook his head, "Why not?"

"We're tight on money big guy." He stated as his friend placed his hat on his head and put his shoes on slowly, "BOY, IF YOU MOVE ANY SLOWER THERE'S GONNA BE WORLD PEACE… LETS MOVE!"

"ALRIGHT, I'M COMING!" The bigger man shot back and walked over to Riley, grabbing his own shotgun, "Lets get us a deranged animal!"

Riley's eyes widened with excitement and he jumped into the air, pumping his fist, "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!" And with that being said, the two best friends exited the boarding house and walked down a dirt path to get to the woods. Trying their best to avoid the cop cars that surrounded the area, they slipped into the woods swiftly and once they felt that they were completely hidden from the trees, they relaxed but never took their guard down. "The animal could be anywhere…" Riley whispered as his eyes shifted, watching as Evan took a few more steps than he did.

"Maybe it only comes out at night…" The darker man suggested as he put his long stringy hair into a low ponytail. "The attack was at night, remember?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we wont see it!" Riley exclaimed, and searched around, kicking leaves out of the way as Evan stared at him with his eyebrows raised.

"I don't think the animal is that small, Riley." He stated with a roll of his eyes and the fiery redhead groaned, glaring over to his friend.

"I'M WORKIN' HERE!" He exclaimed and went deeper into the woods, hearing Evan reluctantly following behind him, carrying the shotgun close to him as his heart beat repeatedly fast against his chest. Riley bent down checking bushes and frowning, but that was only until his friend had stopped dead and the fiery redhead raised his eyebrows and stared at him.

"Uh, Riley…" He said loudly with fear building in his body, "I think he's still alive… He must have been with the others last night and ran off!"

"Hm…" Riley observed and walked over to Evan and the boy. He had an olive skin tone, dark, straight, auburn hair, though all of it was almost dark brown with a slight tint of red. "Slick kid…"

"Then we should see if he's ok, right?" The bigger man asked and the fiery red-head nodded his head, "He's bleeding… Look! It's all on his shirt."

Riley grabbed his water bottle from a pouch and squeezed it, allowing some water to pour on the kid's face. Being hesitant of any bruises or cuts, the shorter man placed his pale hand on the child's arm, gently shaking him.

Drake's eyes fluttered open after a few shakes and driblets of water hit his face. The boy's amber eyes fixated on a clear blue sky and he sat up quite quickly, almost inhumanly quick. Riley and Evan flinched backwards and Drake moved his eyes from the trees and sky, to the two human's who stood in front of him. "Uh… Hi, there." Riley smiled cautiously, keeping his distance. "You alright there, kid?"

Drake just continued staring at Riley and then his eyes moved up to Evan who gulped loudly, "A-Are you hurt?" He asked and the boy felt around his mouth, feeling his sharp fangs, but they weren't extended, instead, they looked like normal, yet sharp, teeth. This took him by surprise and his eyes widened as he jumped to his feet watching as Riley stood up slowly and Evan had his eyes wide.

"I'm fine." Drake lied, as he looked them up and down, "But thank you."

"We're you attacked last night, kid? Everyone else in here got killed..." Riley stated as he slowly approached the boy. Drake didn't say a word, he just kept his eyes focused on the ground, "Did you see what the beast looked like?"

_"KARRIE?" A woman asked as she walked out of her tent, raising her eyebrows. "W-What the hell are you doing out here? Looking at the stars?"_

_"Actually, she's with the stars." The boy grinned and watched as the woman spun around quickly to face the voice that spoke, but no one was there... No one was around. "OVER HERE..." Drake's voice teased as he kept himself moving quickly, watching as the woman's head turned all different ways just so she can catch a glimpse of whoever was talking with her._

_"WHO ARE YOU?" She screamed, pulling her sweater together, covering her body, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"_

_The boy stood directly behind her this time, causing her to turn around and looking down at the ten year old boy who was filled with blood. Her light blue eyes widened and he cocked his head to the side, "Who am I?" He started laughing and shaking his head continuously appearing somewhat mental, "I DON'T KNOW!" The laugh became more sinister and the woman began backing up, her blue eyes glancing down at her friend._

_"What did you do to Karrie?" She asked softly, gulping and the boy walked towards her at a regular human pace, "I-Is she alive?"_

_"I've already TOLD you." He growled and she grabbed something from her bag, "SHE'S WITH THE STARS..."_

_"GO TO HELL!" The blond woman screamed and pointed a gun at the kid. This made his eyes widened, though he's been a raging lunitic ever since he's left Ashburn, he knew what a gun was... and what it can do to you. "DON'T MAKE ME USE THIS!"_

_"Do it." He challenged and walked towards her, "I dare you." Truth was, he didn't want to live anymore. Quite honestly, he wasn't sure what was going on with his body... Sure, these were signs of being a vampire... but he had no contact with a vampire! Aside from the blood, but what he's learned... you turn from the bite... "JUST END ALL OF THIS."_

_"YOU NEED HELP!" She exclaimed and someone else shot out from the tent. "JEN, NO! GO BACK IN THERE!"_

_"Whats going-" Her dark eyes fixated on the boy and he glanced over to her, though, he didn't do anything, he didn't want to kill... he was in a right state of mind right now... until she asked the dreaded question... "Who are you?" That simple question made anger and hate bubble inside him and he growled, running over to Jen and snapping her neck. This, of course, caused the other girl to act and when she saw her friends limp body hit the ground, she didn't hesitate to shoot at the boy. The bullet went straight through his heart and this caused him to jump, but instead of falling, he glanced down at the wound as she started hyperventilating and running away from this area. _

_He cocked his head to the side and reached in the wound, grabbing the bullet out of his heart and body, feeling the wound heal. Drake's amber eyes shot up and watched as she ran throughout the dark forest, calling for help and panting rather loudly. While dropping the bloody bullet onto the green grass, he climbed up a tree, watching as she continued to run through the forest and once she felt that she was far enough, the stupid woman stopped, glancing around with tears rolling down her cheek. As a sigh of relief escaped her lips, Drake leapt from the trees, and sinking his teeth into her creamy neck, hearing her screams bounce off the night sky.  
_

Shoving that flashback away, Drake frowned deeply and shook his head rather quickly, "No idea." He answered softly and Riley and Evan looked at one another, "I didn't see his face."

"His?" Riley asked with wide eyes, walking a little closer, "Y-You mean it's not an animal?"

_An animal?_ Drake thought and remembered how animalistic he behaved last night. He supposed the rumor was that an animal had attacked and left the bodies drained of blood, "No, it was an animal… I just don't remember what it looked like." They stared at him skeptically for a moment, and Riley shuffled his feet in the leaves, but finally, Evan decided to speak up.

"Where are you from, kid?" He asked, finding the courage to go by him, "Anywhere special?"

"Nope." Drake answered smoothly and once they both opened their mouths to ask more questions, an annoyed feeling surged throughout his entire body, "And I don't wanna talk about it either."

"D-Did you run away from home?" Evan asked with wide eyes, completely ignoring the boy's wishes, though, Drake decided to go with that and he nodded firmly.

"Yeah, but like I said… I don't wanna talk about it." He growled and shoved past Riley, stalking deeper into the woods, praying that they wouldn't follow. They'd be stupid if they did.

"W-WELL IF YOU'RE AN OUTCAST… WE ARE TOO!" Riley exclaimed and Drake froze mid-step, turning around to face the shorter man, "Y-you can come live with us if you want... honestly... we accept everyone."

A crooked smile played across the kid's lips and Riley and Evan glanced at one another before settling on Drake again, "You wouldn't want me there..."

"What did you do?" Evan asked with confused eyes and Drake shrugged his shoulders, ripping a leaf off a tree that was close to him.

"Something terrible." He confirmed, allowing the green leaf to slip between his fingers, "You wouldn't want me in your house, believe me."

"I-Is there anyway we can help?" Evan asked and Riley shot him a glare, obviously not interested in helping this child out, "Oh, c'mon Riley… he's alone and he can't survive on his own, he's just a kid!"

"If you let me in, you wont survive the night." Drake admitted a little more bluntly than what he was used to and both of their eyes widened, though, the child's glanced behind them watching as two men approached, both in uniform. His eyebrows scrunched together, but when the other two turned around, they seemed much more frightened.

"Didn't you see the news this morning?" One asked, eying Riley and Evan's shotguns. "Are you supposed to have those? Are you a licensed hunter?"

"O-Oh… Well, not re-" Riley began and the cop trudged over to him, taking away his gun. "You're going to the station for this, I hope you know."

"And who are you?" The other cop asked as he walked over to Drake with suspicion, eying his bloody clothes.

"None of your business." Drake answered dully and the cop was taken aback, watching as Drake began walking away, obviously not caring about anything.

"HEY!" He yelled and shot after him, pulling on his arm roughly, "YOU CANNOT DISRESPECT AN OFFICER... WHY ARE YOU OUT HERE?"

Drake looked the peeved man up and down in a rather cocky way, and then rolled his eyes. "You should leave…" He stated firmly and the officer's eyebrows rose. "I'm serious. Leave. Now."

The other officer who had Riley's and Evan's arms in his hand glanced over to his partner and noticed the hard time the child was giving him. "Need help?" He teased with a slight grin and the officer glared at his partner, gripping the child's arm tightly and dragging him over to the other cop and the eighteen year olds.

"Please, I'm not afraid of you kid." He muttered with a slight smirk and the child willingly went with him as Riley and Evan struggled against the other cops grip, trying to talk their way out of it.

"You should be." Drake said innocently and shoved the cop away from him, kicking him into a tree. Once the partner caught attention of this, he let go of Riley and Evan, and ran over to the kid whose fangs extended in his mouth. The cop stopped dead and stared at the child with large eyes, "Are you sure you want this to be your last moment alive?"

The cop took his gun out and pointed it at Drake, Riley and Evan's faces were astonished as they remained frozen in fear, "YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT!"

"Do I?" Drake asked, while walking towards the gun, "That's nice…" The cop started to shake and then cautiously, he pulled the trigger, aiming at Drake's legs, praying that would slow him down. Instead, he flinched backwards, yelped a little, but his light olive fingers went into the bullet hole, pulling it out of him and the cop watched as the child's leg healed.

"W-What are you?" He asked squinting his eyes together in a rather confused way and Drake grinned sinisterly, stopping dead in the leaves, watching as Riley and Evan began hyperventilating.

"Who cares." Drake replied with a giant smirk and tilted his head to the side, "You're screwed either way." And with that, the boy lunged into the air, knocking the police man off his feet and sinking his teeth into his skin, drinking the blood enthusiastically.

Riley and Evan watched with wide eyes, finding themselves unable to move due to fear, and Drake finally stood up, his fangs retracting. With a simple sigh, he turned around fixating his vision on the two boys, "I wont hurt you." He stated as they began shaking, "But you two need to get out of here before it looks like you did something..."

"W-What?" Riley choked with simple shakes of his head and Drake glared.

"Just go." He growled and with acute hearing, he heard footsteps making their way over to them... it was obvious that they heard commotion by the way they were running. "GO!" He said again, knowing what was next for them if they didn't get moving. The two best friends nodded their heads as they gathered their stuff, and shot deeper into the forest, but once Riley turned to glance behind him... the child was gone.

* * *

"Sweetie..." Isabelle moved through the bedroom door, watching as Victoria sat on her bed, hugging her legs to her chest. "I know today was difficult for you, are you alright?" Victoria's blue-green eyes shot over to her mother through a glare and Isabelle smiled gently, sitting next to her, "I know... stupid question."

While taking in a deep breath, the brunette exhaled quickly and picked her head up, hoping to pack up the courage to speak with her mother, "No... No, I'm fine." She lied with a simple shake of her head and Isabelle's smile broke, obviously seeing something that Victoria tried so hard to conceal, "I-I just miss him. He was my... My best-" That was it... the tears started to flow again and her throat began to tighten. The young brunette found herself unable to speak as she threw her arms around her mother, feeling the affection back in return, "MOM, I MISS HIM... I MISS HIM SO MUCH!"

"That little hole in your heart... it will heal in time." Isabelle said soothingly while running her fingers through her daughters hair, "Believe me... This is bringing back memories of when your father died... I had two kids, a single mother and had to raise you... But I got through it, because life goes on. Everyone lives their lives and dies..."

"I want to see him again, mom!" She exclaimed, finding herself unable to let go of her mother. "I want him to walk through that door right now..."

"We all do." She stated while kissing her daughters wet cheek, "But he isn't coming back, Victoria... I want you to realize this... I don't think it's sunk through your head yet." Victoria frowned and pulled away from her mother, wiping the tears from her beautiful eyes, "I hate seeing you so sad..." With this, her daughter still didn't talk, and Isabelle smiled over to her hoping this would cheer her up, "Isn't there any happy memories that you remember?"

"O-Of course." Victoria answered quickly while grabbing a tissue off her dresser, "Right here... He told me we'd be best friends forever..." Her voice broke, but talking about the good time was helping. She pointed over to the arm chair and sighed gently. "Right there... he fell asleep in my room and when he woke me up the next morning, he pretended to be you and he... he hit me with a pillow." She smiled softly and Isabelle smiled also, nodding her head, "... I remember one time... when we were seven... I was afraid of the monsters under my bed and he told me that there were no such things as monsters... You weren't around at the time, you brought Nick to Asaka because he broke his arm, but without being grossed out by hugging a girl... I remember he hugged me and told me that he'd fight the bad guys off for me... just so I could sleep."

"Honey, that's beautiful." Isabelle said quietly, taking her daughters attention away from all the memories, "Now think of all those memories... and try to dream big and this is the start of something new. Drake wants you to go on with your life and he wants you to be happy... Just promise me that you will never give up my darling daughter." She smiled and Victoria's eyebrows scrunched together, "You have so much going for you... Live for the both of you."

"Ok, mom." Victoria promised and her mother grabbed the sheets, pulling them backwards so that her daughter would get in.

"Dream big." She stated with a slight kiss on the head, "I love you, honey.

"Love you too mom." She replied and watched as her mother turned the lights off, and shut the door behind her. Quickly, the brunette turned the lamp on and swiftly walked over to her dresser, searching inside the jewelry box, pulling out a beautiful silver ring that had a red gem on it. She held it close to her heart and memories flooded back in thoughts:

_"Happy Birthday, Vee." Drake grinned while walking over to the beautiful brunette holding a small box in his hand. Victoria's blue-green eyes fixated on it and she giggled jumping to her feet._

_"WHAT DID YA GET ME?" She asked with wide eyes and he chuckled, shaking his head._

_"Nice to see you too." He replied sarcastically and gave her a box watching as she unwrapped it and looked down at it with wide eyes, "My mom and dad picked it out... I don't know why... I would have rather gotten you like- like a bear or somethin' but-"_

_"I LOVE IT!" She giggled and hugged her best friend and he blushed slightly. "It's beautiful!"_

_"O-Oh... so you do like it?" He asked with confused eyes and she nodded her head over and over._

_"It's beautiful!" She repeated and gave him a slight kiss on the cheek, which made them both become frozen and separate immediately, "Oh... um..."_

_"Yeah... We should-" He started talking and she nodded her head, blushing deeply._

_"Yeah... lets go." Victoria interrupted and the two best friends, with out another word, never spoke of this moment again, but they went downstairs to join the rest of the party as she wore the beautiful ring on her right hand._

Victoria frowned and held the ring tightly in the palm of her hand before slipping it on her right ring finger. Giant tears escaped from her eyes and the frown only deepened as she continued watching the memories flutter inside her head. "I love you..." She whispered and felt her knees hit the ground from being exhausted and weakened by this entire day.

* * *

Drake walked through the dark woods, avoiding any sight of people or the police that seemed to be investigating the area lately. This wasn't him and he didn't realize what was going ON with him. When people ask 'Who are you' it only upsets him because he doesn't know who he is... He isn't a prince, a king... a son... he's nobody. Feeling somewhat weak, which was unusual since he found his supernatural ability, he felt his knees hit the dirt underneath him and a little memory of his best friend Victoria Morlet flooded back. "I can't do this..." He whispered, shaking his head, "I have to forget about my old life... My new life starts here..." Drake wasn't sure if anyone was around to hear him, he prayed that he was alone, he couldn't stand not feeling in control of his body and emotions...

The emotions were heightened and the main one he felt the most towards people was hatred... but it was funny... this new feeling he felt when he saw Victoria's face in his mind... It felt warm and fuzzy and he wanted to go find her and hold her throughout the night and- Shaking his head, he pushed that emotion aside, not wanting to feel it ever again, mainly because he wouldn't be able to see her ever again. "New life..." He reminded himself and wondered why everything felt so different to him. "New life, new people."

With a simple frown, he glanced to the side, with his sharp eyes he saw a giant boarding house across the way and he tilted his head to the side, hoping that no one lived there. There was no lights on in the house and this gave him hope that he could live in a house by himself. "I can't kill anyone..." He stated, remembering the people he's attacked as he began making his way towards the boarding house at a normal human pace, "I refuse to kill anyone else..." Another memory flooded into mind and he remembered his father and what his uncle told him, aside from accidentally killing his father... he came up with something that would help immensely. "I am NOT a murderer..."

* * *

**AN:** Aw, so how did you like the memories? Did you like how Drake kind of saved Riley and Evan's butts?

I also enjoyed the ending when Victoria admitted her love for Drake, though, she thinks he's dead... and she wears the ring on her finger. I also liked how they both grew weak and both of them hit the ground at the same time with their knees as they thought about one another.

Riley and Evan crack me up and I hope I got Timon and Pumbaa down well :) I tried really hard to do it haha.

Sooo, what was your favorite part?

What do you think of Drake? :)

-Shadow


	12. My name is Pain

**My name is Pain**

Once approaching the old boarding house, Drake had already assumed that it was abandoned and that there was no need to knock. His hand gripped the doorknob and without hesitation, opened the door. It didn't squeak, which the young child thought to be odd, instead of lingering on that contemplation for too long, he decided to venture inside the rest of the house.

Having sharp vision was a positive side to this kind of life, whatever it may be, and the speed is also something wonderful… the way he isn't able to control himself… that's a negative aspect and it needed to be worked on. Glancing around the dark house he noticed that it wasn't dusty, the furniture looks as if it were used, and there was definitely a smell of human life lurking about the house.

Drake's eyebrows scrunched together as he investigated the environment around him, coming across pictures that were next to the rather small television set. In this picture, it showed a man with red curly hair, holding a boy who had similar hair. The joy that radiated off this picture made Drake's heart squeeze in such a way that it gave him a chest pain, making tears unleash from his amber eyes.

Glancing to the side, in another picture, he saw a darker boy with short black hair and dark eyes, smiling into the camera with his family. His mother was a raving beauty; she had black curly hair, lighter skin than anyone else in the family, and blue eyes. The father had dark, short hair as well, but he wasn't much to look at… in fact, he looked quite sad in this picture… Drake noticed that the smile never reached his eyes. The other two siblings were both females, and twins, and they stood on either side of the dark haired boy. Family… Drake thought with a roll of his eyes, then when a light flipped on, he glanced over to the area he heard the pounding heartbeat.

"Y-You…" The fiery redhead said in a rather hesitant tone of voice and Drake sighed as he stared at them. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought this house was vacant." Drake admitted with bitterness in his voice, "But I can clearly see that it's not…"

There was silence between the two and this made the child on edge, so he thought it would be best to leave, but as soon as he took a few steps, the young adult spoke up again, "Hey… You don't have to leave."

Drake froze in mid step, then decided to turn and face him, "You really want to risk that?"

There was silence again and the young child smirked over to Riley, knowing that he was right. "Just… tell me something." He said and Drake raised his eyebrows, "What are you?"

"What do you mean?" The child asked, almost too quickly.

"You aren't human." Riley observed, "I noticed that while in the woods… What are you?"

A sigh escaped from Drake's mouth and while deciding to make himself at home, he sat down on the couch turning to face Riley, "I used to be human." He answered softly and Riley walked over to him, though, he kept his distance, "Now… I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean?" The redhead asked with confused eyes, "I mean… Wouldn't you know what happened to you?"

"I should." Drake grinned softly and shook his head quickly after that, "But I don't."

"W-Well…" Riley began and Drake raised his eyebrows, "You looked kind of like… like a…" He paused and looked to see if Evan was anywhere around, then he turned back to the kid, "A v-vampire… BUT I mean… I know they don't exist and stuff and-"

"They exist." Drake confirmed and observed that if Riley widened his eyes anymore they would pop out, "I don't know exactly where they are, but trust me…" He grinned and the fiery redhead gulped, "They're real."

"A-And how do you…" Riley began and shook his head, "You know… How do you know about them existing?"

"It's a long story." Drake confirmed, "And who knows, I might be a… vampire." Riley noticed that he said the word _vampire_ with such hate and disgust; half of him wondered why but the other half told him to leave it alone.

"Isn't is said that… vampires burn in the sun and you have to be bitten to become one?" Riley asked, feeling a little hesitant about being so close to him. Drake nodded his head and confusion took over once more, "But you said you didn't remember how you turned into this and… and I saw you in the sun today! You didn't burn!"

"I know I'm confused too." Drake admitted and glanced down at his hands, "My body was pale too… now it's normal and I really don't understand why or what's going on, but I'm trying to be a good person…" Riley's eyes poured into Drake's and the boy continued on, "I'm trying to let go of all this hate I'm harboring…"

"Why do you hate so much?" The redhead asked and Drake shook his head, unable to answer that question, "Well can't you just… stop?"

"I do try." Drake replied, moving his straight hair out of his eyes, "But everything is so extreme right now, and not just my emotions are… My entire life. I can see so much clearer, I can sense anything if it's outside or somewhere around the house, I can hear things you probably couldn't even imagine and my speed is so fast that I become dizzy and confused when I stop moving!" Riley's eyes widened again and Drake nodded his head, "But hatred seems to be the one thing I'm familiar with the most… something I brought back with me from my humanity… and it's easy."

"Where are you from?" Riley asked and Drake glared at him, "I-I'm sorry… I'm just trying to… figure you out."

"Well don't." The child snapped and shot to his feet, ready to escape out the door and find somewhere else to find shelter. Obviously, this wasn't a good place for him, although, he was controlling himself rather well right now…

"W-what's your name?" Riley asked, getting up with him and Drake glared over to him again, "You're in my house… I just wanna know."

"Names aren't important." Drake answered with an acidic tone of voice, "It only gives emphasis on who a person is and what people are to call them." This made Riley confused, but he didn't bother giving up.

"I'm Riley." He said boldly with a nod and Drake stared at him with a blank face, "I'm not going to ask you to talk about your past… you obviously don't want to… I don't either and I know how you feel."

Drake remembered the little boy with the red hair with a man who held him closely and he sighed, feeling a twinge of pain surge throughout his body again, "You do, huh?" He asked and Riley nodded his head, "Well… I'm…" He thought for a moment, figuring he should make up a fake name and identity, but instead he told the young adult his real name, he had to keep some of his dignity, "Drake. My name's Drake."

"Is that your true name, or did you make that up?" Riley grinned and Drake smirked lightly, shaking his head.

"It's my real name." He answered with pure confidence striding out of his mouth.

"Well, Drake…" Riley said softly and nodded his head, "You're welcome to stay as long as you want. There's no need to run from here."

The child looked at him with astonishment, "Even after all I've told you? About vampires… about what I think I am… you want me to stay here?"

"Yes." Riley replied with a simple shrug, "I'm an outcast, Evan's an outcast… you seem to be one yourself. Fate led you here, Drake, and you can either keep everything you've ever known or you can start over new…"

"Riley?" A voice appeared from the stairs and this actually caught the child by surprise. He didn't hear a thing, but that might have been because he was in a deep conversation about something. "Why are you still u-… YOU!"

"Me." Drake answered with a roll of his eyes and Evan kept his distance, though, he noticed that Riley had packed up the courage and stood next to the child.

"YOU-YOU" He began and Riley shook his head, telling him to shut up.

"Lie down before you hurt yourself." The redhead stated and Evan glared over to his friend, "This here is Drake, and he's gonna be stayin' here."

"He is?" Evan asked with wide, frightened, eyes.

"I am?" Drake asked as the same exact time as Evan and Riley nodded his head, "Since when?"

"Since I'm makin' you!" Riley grinned and walked away from the child, "Evan, I'll explain everything to ya later, buddy, but right now… I think we need to teach our new friend here a new lesson." His dark eyes poured into the child's and Drake's eyebrows scrunched together, "Repeat after me…" Riley cleared his throat and grinned, "Hakuna Matata!"

A chuckle escaped Drake's lips and he shook his head, "What?"

"Ha-ku-na Ma-ta-ta!" Evan exclaimed and the young child looked over to him, "It means 'no worries'!" The bigger man's smile only grew and Drake nodded, "My grandfather told me about it just before he died! He told me that livin' the carefree life is the way to go!"

"Carefree, huh?" Drake asked with a grin and both boys nodded their heads simultaneously, "And how does one live a carefree life?"

"Like this…" Riley replied and jumped on the couch swiftly, "There's no RULES…" He began jumping up and down on the bed like a child, "No responsibilities!"

"The only thing we need to do in order to survive is hunt in the woods… collect the animal and send it off to companies. We get paid pretty good money and hunting is fun!" Evan exclaimed and Drake nodded his head.

"Of course with YOU around…" Riley began with a mischievous face, "You can help us hunt the animals… we'd get more money!"

"Teaching a child how to shoot guns?" Evan asked with wide eyes and shook his head, "That's too dangerous! Riley, this kid isn't eighteen he's young!"

"He doesn't need a gun." The redhead confirmed and rolled his eyes, "He'll use his teeth."

"Oh he'll… WHAT?" Evan exclaimed and Drake decided that it was time to change the subject.

"So let me get this straight…" He grinned and both boys looked over to him, "The saying is… Hakuna Matata… and it means no worries? Live a carefree life?"

"That's it!" Riley shouted happily and jumped off the couch, "It's worked for us!"

Drake smirked and watched as the two boys laughed and talked amongst each other about the new comers sleeping arrangements. There are many rooms in this house, but Drake figured he wanted him as far away as possible, especially with him being in this state. _How can one live a worry and carefree life?_ Drake thought and the smirk started to fade into the usual frown, _When in life… all there is… is worry._

_

* * *

_

Elizabeth held herself together quite well and she heard a knock at the door which made her jump due to the sudden noise. "C-Come in!" She exclaimed and her amber eyes watched as the door opened and a female stepped in, frowning quite softly. "Ah, my dearest friend... What is it?"

"I just wanted to see if you are ok." She answered softly, wrapping her arms around the woman, "You were here for me when I lost Victor, now I am here for you. Elizabeth you are my best friend and nothing is going to change that, but I really need to know if you're going to be ok."

A sigh escaped from the former queen and she shook her head, "I'll never be ok, Is." She replied and Isabelle nodded, "But the pain will eventually numb itself, though, just because it's numb and you can't feel it, doesn't mean that it's still there."

"I know." Isabelle stated and sighed softly, "Everything just happened so quickly-"

"How is Victoria taking it?" Elizabeth asked with wide eyes, though, they were dry. "Is she alright?" The woman frowned and the former queen's eyebrows scrunched together, "What is it, dearie?" Pressuring a friend who really didn't want to speak was bad, but it was hard enough not knowing exactly what was going on.

"She cried... and I hugged her... We started talking about memories and I told her never to give up on anything..." Elizabeth nodded, agreeing one hundred percent on everything Isabelle spilled out of her mouth, "B-But when I left... I stayed by the door for a few moments, just to see if she would really be alright... and-" The woman shook her head, but Elizabeth nudged her, telling her to continue, "She said she loved him."

"WHAT?" Elizabeth exclaimed, feeling tears form in her eyes, "L-Loved him? Isabelle, are you absolutely sure she meant HIM?"

"Yes. Who else would she be talking about, Liz?" The former queen's best friend asked through sad eyes, "She loved him... It was already starting with her and her heart is probably just as badly beaten up and torn." Elizabeth found that she was unable to talk, but her friend stated something that she knew she would be able to keep, "We can't tell Victoria we know... It'll only anger her..."

"I-I promise." The former queen croaked and nodded her head firmly. Thinking about her husband hurt, but thinking about Drake hurt even more... knowing he's dead and that he and Victoria could have been together killed her, the pain was unbearable, and it was here to stay.

* * *

"Here's your room." Riley stated, opening a trapdoor to one of the five rooms inside the house. For an odd reason, Drake had thought there were more because of the way the house looked from the outside, but to his knowledge, they put him at the top room, which was the only room on that floor, it must have been an attic and it was huge. "We use it for storage... but, I think it's safe for Evan and I if your up here right now..."

"It's perfect." Drake said softly and stepped into it, glancing around only to find that there was no place to sleep, there was only a wooden desk, chair, a book shelf that was filled with millions of books, and an old grandfather clock. "So should I drag a bed up here or something?"

"Actually... The beds are bolted to the floor..." Evan frowned and Drake raised his eyebrows, "Believe me, we've tried to switch the beds around the room, but they don't budge. This room was the only one that had a bed in it, but it's in the cellar downstairs, we moved it so this could be a storage area, but we really have nothing to put in here."

This confused the boy, _Why would someone bolt the beds to the floor? _"Is everything in here yours?" He spoke softly and glanced around the room, observing the area around him.

"No, but the bookshelf was way too heavy, so we decided not to move it." Riley shrugged, "This was the previous owners house... I'm guessing they spent a lot of time in this room... Just look at all the books and journals." The redhead walked over to the bookshelf, grabbing an old journal that had dust on it. "Look at this... I guess his name was William Ashburn."

Drake's eyes widened and his entire body froze._ Ashburn?_ He thought and hesitantly turned his head. "I-Is there a picture?" He asked and Riley flipped through the pages, shaking his head.

"Nope, why?" He asked and then sneezed from the dust. With inhumanly fast speed, Drake was next to Riley in an instant, snatching the journal out of his hand. "Whoa! Kid... You have got to stop doin' that."

"Sorry." Drake muttered and flipped around the book, "This room belonged to William Ashburn, huh?"

"Yeah? So what?" Riley asked and Evan walked out of the room to try and find the old bed that was once in this room.

"No reason, I-I just think this stuff is really cool." Drake lied, though, he was half telling the truth. _No wonder why this bed wasn't bolted to the ground_, he thought and glanced down at his now dusty hands. This had to be his ancestor, and the only way he left was probably because he was a vampire too! _I wonder what happened to him..._

"I'm gonna help bring your bed up, you need anything kid?" Riley asked and Drake shook his head as the short red head disappeared into the trap door and started down the stairs that connected to it. He could hear Riley's foot step onto the main floor and as the footsteps faded he heard him take a few more paces down another flight of stairs. Quickly, he flipped through the pages of William Ashburns journal, skimming words until he found things that were useful to him.

_Trying to blend in with this society is difficult, especially when you are only allowed to leave the house at night. My room is constantly filled with darkness and that's all I seem to enjoy these days. Ever since my brother cursed all vampires, I have been the one to suffer the most, and with quick thinking, I chose a place of my own, leaving behind my old life, though, I kept a grudge against my brother. Vengeance will be mine, Thaddeus, and you will regret your choices when the time is right... The only thing the future holds is that you died for nothing._

A chill ran up Drake's spine as he read those words and Riley appeared through the trap door, glancing in. "Can you help us kid? The mattress is... somewhat stuck..."

"Yeah..." The child began and placed the dusty journal on top of the wooden desk before exiting out the trap door and glancing down at the ground... there laid a HUGE mattress, it was most defiantly the size of a king sized bed, possibly bigger! His eyes widened and he almost fell from where he was standing. "H-How the HELL did you get that thing..." He pointed to the giant mattress, "Through THAT tiny trap door?" He asked and pointed to the door.

"Oh..." Evan looked embarrassed and he sighed, "W-We threw it out the window..."

"Y-You..." Drake chuckled and shook his head, "You threw it out the window?" While the two boys nodded, Drake continued to chuckle and he grabbed the giant mattress that surprisingly wasn't dusty. "I got this... Go open the window for me." Riley nodded and he and Evan shot up the stairs as they opened the elongated window with ease. Drake had the mattress in his hands, and the boy quickly jumped from the ground, up to the roof, where his room was, and shoved the giant mattress through the long windows.

"FANTASTIC!" Riley exclaimed and Drake continued chuckling as he jumped through the window, "Now we need to put the bed back together..."

"I'll do the rest." Drake stated and the two boys nodded their heads, as they walked down the stairs, handing him the pieces that hold the mattress up to its full potential, "Thanks... and do you have cleaning supplies?" The dust was really getting to him, normally, dust wasn't a big deal, but with this new eyesight he felt like his mother trying to finish her 'spring cleaning'.

"Of course." Evan exclaimed as he disappeared into the kitchen, dragging out soap, sponges, and rags. "Have fun kid... Buckets are in the cellar." With that, he and Riley were gone, they must have decided to catch up on sleep since that was something they lacked since he arrived. _Maybe they were going hunting tomorrow_, Drake thought, and with that, he put the bed together quickly, placing the mattress on top of it and shoving it to an empty corner of the room.

To his surprise, the bed only took up a small space, and the rest of the room was filled with William Ashburn's old belongings... which wasn't much, but it was enough to take up some space. His amber eyes glanced around, looking at how dirty everything looked and he sighed heavily _Ugh, this is going to be a long night..._

* * *

**AN:** So, Drake, Riley and Evan are friends now :D That's good, right? XD

Had to put Hakuna Matata in there, it's like one of the main quotes in **TLK**. :P and *Drake found out about his vampire ancestor William Ashburn... Hmm, I wonder what happened to him. That WAS his house, so he must be dead, right? I guess Drake will have to do more research. and we leave off with him CLEANING? Wow, he must really have changed XD

*Elizabeth ): I feel bad for her, and now she knows that Victoria loved Drake and that makes it even harder on her. Think about it... She wont have grandchildren... THE HORROR! xD

*What do you think Riley and Evan feel about having someone like Drake in the house? Do you think they trust him or do you think they only want him there to help get more money? Their job is hunting animals and giving them to slaughter houses anyway... They get paid very little for it, but with the help of Drake... things may get better and they know that.

**REVIEEEEEEEW. Only one step closer to finding out secrets. :)**

-Shadowland


	13. Made from mistakes

**AN: **I want you to pay really good attention to this chapter, it explains **EVERYTHING** about Drake, and I made it simple enough so that everyone can understand it.

* * *

**Made from mistakes**

Two months have passed and Elizabeth hesitantly glanced over to the calendar, praying that the month of October was over with and that November had started up on this terribly gloomy day. Her amber eyes fixated on the circled area on the calendar and she read the date: October 31st… Drake's eleventh birthday.

Closing her eyes tightly, the former queen shook her head, not allowing the tears to escape. _Why did I look at the damn calendar?_ She thought, feeling as her throat grew tighter and tighter. _No… I refuse to cry again_. Taking in a deep breath, Elizabeth opened her eyes feeling herself gradually calming down, "Happy Birthday, son…" She spoke to no one in particular, but believed that he would hear her wherever he may be.

"Nick, this is the THIRD time I had to go and pay a little visit to your school!" A voice exclaimed, but anger poured through it, Elizabeth could tell. The former queen made her way around the corner and glanced over to see a woman disciplining her son. "You cannot ditch school!"

"M-Mom…" Nick began while he shook his dark head, "None of the kids like me! They're always makin' fun of me and this… this isn't fair! I hate it there!"

"I understand that, Nicholas." Isabelle glared down at her youngest child, "But that doesn't matter! You're good friends with the older boys and they accept you. Victoria allows you in her group of friends, so why do the other kids matter?"

"I'm not in the same grade as them mom!" He shouted with a frown, "Everyone in MY grade hates me!"

"Why do they hate you, Nick?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot impatiently against the floor, "And don't say _'I don't know'_ because then I know you really are lying."

With this, the younger boy glared at his mother, his hands clenching into fists, "I WISH DAD WAS STILL HERE!" He screamed and this hit Elizabeth hard, but she couldn't imagine how Isabelle must have felt, "PEOPLE HAVE TOLD ME HE WAS AN UNDERSTANDING PERSON! UNLIKE _**YOU**_!" With that, he turned on his heal and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him and leaving his mother speechless.

"Oh, Victor…" Isabelle finally prayed, probably thinking she was alone, "Please help me with this son of yours…"

This brought back memories of when Elizabeth would yell at Drake for doing something stupid at school, except, he never had an excuse, he wanted to be bad. Tears flooded the former queens eyes, but she shook her head and walked over to her friend, placing her hand on her shoulder, "Everything will be ok, Is."

Isabelle's eyes widened with astonishment and she turned to look at Elizabeth, "Oh, Liz, I- I didn't know you were here."

"It's ok." She admitted softly and sighed, "I was just in James' old office… I haven't been there in two months… I just overheard everything."

"Ah… I really don't know what I'm going to do with him, Liz." Isabelle frowned while shaking her head, "He's so difficult… And it's getting worse."

"Well, take your own advice…" Elizabeth smiled softly and Isabelle's eyebrows scrunched together out of pure confusion, "What you told your daughter… Never give up. Tomorrow's another day… Or were those just words to you?"

"No." Isabelle grinned and shook her head, "They weren't just words to me, I believe it one hundred percent."

"Good, because that's the only thing that has helped me along the way." Elizabeth admitted with a slight blush, "Each day does get better…" She paused and her amber eyes locked with Isabelle's green ones, "If you allow it to." These thoughts made her friend think of her own daughter and how she was dealing with all of this. Truth is, she _seemed_ ok but she had observed that Victoria had been wearing the ring that Drake had given to her for her tenth birthday. "Today's… _His_ birthday…"

"I-I know…" Isabelle frowned and quickly hugged her friend, "I didn't want to say anything, but… today is October thirty first… A wonderful day though."

"Yes, it is." Elizabeth smiled softly, though it was fake and the friend let go of the former queen, "Is… Do you think James and Drake are happy where they are?" Isabelle was taken by surprise when she asked this question. For a while, Elizabeth couldn't even say their names, and when she said them now… Isabelle could hear the pain in her voice, but her friend ignored it.

"I believe that they are happy, but they want everyone on earth to be happy too. Elizabeth, it wont be long… in the blink of an eye, we'll be old ladies." She giggled softly and Elizabeth smiled and nodded her head in total agreement. "They're happy, and they are watching over us."

* * *

It was a gloomy day outside to begin with, and Drake didn't start to stir until he felt the wind blowing on exposed parts of his skin. The boy's eyes fluttered open and crunching sounds were made as his body moved around on the ground. _What the-?_ He thought and sat up slowly, seeing that he was outside in the woods. _Oh no…_

It's been two months since he was human, since he started his new life, and the control of blood thirst was really starting to work, he even found a method: Take a breath. Glancing around the deadened woods he noticed that there were no dead bodies, and no smell of spilt blood came to his senses… so why was he out here? The sound of a twig snapping caught his attention and he jumped to his feet quickly, looking around the area frantically, turning all his senses on. "H-HELLO?" He called out, and heard running from behind him. The boy's eyes widened as he spun to face the person but there was no one there… A sigh of relief escaped his lips and he turned around only to come face to face with a woman… and she was quite beautiful.

A gasp escaped from Drake's lips and she smiled down to him as he panted. "W-Who are you?" He asked the dreaded question that he absolutely hated and her smile only widened. The woman had long, blackish brown hair, dark brown eyes, and pure white skin.

"I am Aurora." Her British accent caught the boy off guard and he noticed that he didn't get a sensation to bite her, and this confused him, he still had a hard time with Riley and Evan, why not her? "Confused?"

"Yes." He stated boldly while staring at her with skeptical eyes, "You're… you're not human are you?"

"That is a terrible question, Drake." She replied and his eyes widened. How did she know his name? "You shouldn't just ask people that. They'd know _we_ exist."

"_We_?" He asked with perplexed eyes, fear building in his body, "What do you mean _we_?"

"Oh, surly you know what you are." She stated and he shook his head, the only thing he knew was that he wasn't human anymore and that his tendencies were vampire like. "You mean you've never heard of **half** vampires?"

"HALF vampires?" Drake repeated with wide eyes, "H-How did I…"

"Well, I would say that you're father was probably a vampire and your mother is human…" Her dark eyes examined him, "But in your case… you must have gotten a hold of some vampire blood."

"E-Excuse me?" Drake's head was spinning and the woman laughed lightly, she sounded like an angel.

"You drank vampire blood and died." She said after the laughter subsided and his eyes widened. How did she know all this? He was made from his own mistake… "Well, that had to be it, right? You are very lucky you know. Most vampire's just don't give up their blood, they don't have much to begin with."

_That's_ _it_… Drake thought as he glared at the woman, _I need to ask… I need to know,_ "H-How do you know me?" He inquired and she smiled softly. "And… before this creepy meeting… were you just running around here? You know… watching me?"

"Just now?" She asked and then shook her head as her dark eyes scanned the area around them, "No, I just started coming back when I saw you moving around the forest all squirrelly." Her eyes returned back to his and he nodded, "You looked frightened and I figured that I should make an appearance when you were more stable."

_More stable?_ He thought with his eyebrows scrunched together, "Why can't I remember how I got here?" The boy's impatience was growing and she stood rather still, it made an eerie feeling creep up his spine, "I-I woke up like this… there's no dead bodies anywhere so I don't think I-"

"Actually… There is." She frowned and his eyes widened, "You're young, don't worry it happens to the best of vampires. I got rid of it for you."

"The BEST of vampires?" Drake asked, his voice filled with doubt, "You have got to be kidding."

Aurora's perfectly shaped eyebrow raised and she placed her hands on her hips, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"There is no such thing as a _good_ vampire." He repeated his father's words, even if there was a twinge of guilt inside of him, "And if they say they're any different they're lying!" She looked taken aback and he nodded his head firmly, "So you can't fool me!"

"So, because you're a vampire, you don't consider yourself good?" She asked with a simple tilt of her head and he opened his mouth to answer, but he slowly closed it realizing she had a point, "You don't want to hurt people, correct?"

"R-Right…" He said softly and hung his head, his hair hanging in his eyes, "But I did. I killed someone… again."

"The point is… you are being very judgmental." He picked his head up and watched her with intense eyes, "Not all vampire's are bad and in time, you will realize this." Aurora's voice was quiet but he heard it loud and clear.

"N-No…" He frowned and shook his head continuously, "I-I don't want this anymore! I don't want to be a vampire!" His hands grabbed her arms, tempted to shake her, "Please… Please tell me how to get rid of it!"

"You can't." She replied boldly and he nodded his head, "No, you really can't other wise we all would have already."

_There's more?_ He thought, but pushed that away from his mind. While letting go of Aurora, he grabbed a small branch that fell off one of the trees and placed it in her hand, "PLEASE." He begged and her eyes widened, "I know what wood does to vampires… Just end it for me…"

"I don't kill, Drake." Aurora's voice was audacious and he looked confused for a moment, "I haven't bitten or killed a human in two hundred years. People are safe around me and the scent that you seem to not get enough of… I don't even notice it anymore."

"I-Is that even possible?" He asked with wide eyes and the woman dropped the branch.

"Very much so." She replied with a nod, "I told you, vampire's aren't all bad. A lot of them choose to be bad, because it is easy, it takes real courage and discipline to be a good vampire, that is something I think you have." This made him become quiet and she smirked lightly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "And I was watching you yesterday that's how I know your name… you told me. I stopped you from drinking more of the humans. You only got to one of them, the rest didn't know what was going on, they think that animal is back."

"Thank you." He said softly with a sincere nod and she smiled back softly. "But… I noticed something… Why do you have pale skin and I don't?"

"Is that the only difference you notice, Drake?" She asked with challenging eyes and he studied her for a moment, unable to hear a heartbeat.

"Your heart… it doesn't beat." He observed and she nodded, "But mine does."

"Yes, it is because you are a half human, half vampire… otherwise known as a _**Dhampir**_. Your heartbeats, your skin remains the same color until you grow thirsty, then it becomes pale… you're allowed to walk in the sun, you're going to grow until a full adult. Quite honestly, I'm jealous." She grinned and his eyebrows scrunched together, "Dhampir's have all the luck… us vampire's are stuck in this forever."

"Wait, so… I'm not going to live forever?" He asked with a giant smile, "I-I'll continue to grow? WOW! I'm like a human with benefits!"

"NO." She stated loudly and his smile faded, "Let me explain. When humans are as young as you are, they still need to grow and mature. A child vampire does not exist, they can't. If a child is turned into a vampire, they are immediately killed. You… you will grow until your body reaches maturity. You probably will stop growing by the time you hit twenty years of age, but the good thing is… you will grow quite fast, so you'll skip all the awkward phases."

"So… once I hit twenty… I'm frozen in time?" He asked and she nodded her head, "I wont ever die?"

"Unless someone kills you." Aurora stated, eyeing the branch that was on the ground and he followed her gaze. "Can't you notice? You change everyday."

"I do?" He asked with a frown and then he observed that he felt taller, "I do…"

"Yes, but once you hit eighteen or nineteen, the growth will start to slow, but don't let it fool you. You still need to hit twenty." She grinned and he nodded his head. All of this was weird to him but with Aurora here, teaching him everything, it made life so much easier, "One more thing…" The woman stated and Drake looked at her with wide eyes, "Do you want my help so you wont kill anyone anymore? To knock yourself out of those trances?"

"YES!" He exclaimed and she nodded.

"Under one condition." Aurora began and he raised his eyebrows, the smile fading, "I need a place to live… You see I'm a nomadic vampire, which means I don't live anywhere except the wild. It's been that way for some time now and you told me all about the boarding house… you live there with your friends Riley and Evan." _She has a fantastic memory. _Drake thought and blinked quickly, "I want to live there too. I promise not to hurt them, and it'll be good for you to have someone like me in the house."

"I-I'll ask Riley and Evan, I'm not sure how they'll take another vampire being in the house." He stated firmly and her eyes widened, "But… I got an idea on how to ask them."

"Wait!" She exclaimed and he looked at her, "They know about vampires existing? They know you're a vampire? Drake, I thought you said you were confused."

"I was confused, all I knew was that I had vampire tendencies but what I've known about vampires my entire life… it didn't match, and so I was confused." He sighed heavily and a smirk pulled across his lips, "C'mon! Let's go to the boarding house."

* * *

Once the two immortals arrived at the boarding house, Drake turned to look at his new friend, holding his hands out, "Wait here. I'll tell them about everything." She nodded her head and the boy disappeared into the house, watching as Riley and Evan sat on the couch watching T.V. "Hey…" He said lightly and sat on a lazy boy chair that was all ripped up. Their gazes flashed over to him, and they nodded, but they didn't say anything. Their focus was taken by the television screen again. "Hey um… can a friend of mine live here?"

"GO GO GO!" Riley exclaimed and Drake turned his vision only to see that they were watching a football game. The boy rolled his eyes and once the team scored a touchdown, the two boys jumped into the air and started dancing like idiots.

"HEY!" Drake growled and they froze, glancing over to him again, "I asked you two a question!"

"Oh… um… What was it again?" Evan asked with his hand in mid air, waiting for Riley to give him a highfive.

"A friend of mine… she's an outcast too… I was wondering if she could stay here." Drake was trying to word things correctly and let them know that she wasn't exactly human. Once they nodded enthusiastically, he decided now would be a good time, "She isn't… exactly human either." Both jaws dropped, "She's like me."

"WHAT?" Riley exclaimed, "A-Are you crazy?"

"She's GOOD!" The young vampire exclaimed, "She isn't bad… she hasn't hunted a human in two hundred years!"

"Two hundred… years?" Evan asked, his head started to spin and Drake was ready to catch him, but he stayed stable. "I-I guess…"

"Yeah, sure. What else do we got to lose, right?" Riley asked sarcastically, "Except our lives."

"She won't. I promise you." Drake growled and both the boys nodded as the young vampire grinned happily and walked outside, watching as the beauty stayed completely still by the door. "C'mon in."

"That was quick." She grinned and walked through the door smiling lightly and touching things around the house, "It's wonderful…" She spoke softly and Drake rolled his eyes. With that, Riley and Evan walked over to the front door and again, their jaws dropped.

"Y-Y-You are…" Riley began and his eyes examined her body. She smiled sweetly and Drake rolled his eyes. "I-I mean I expected a little girl… like… like his age or something-"

"Well I am not a little girl." The woman smiled, "I'm twenty two forever… and if we want to get more practical, I'm three hundred and ninety eight."

For a moment, Drake thought that both boys were going to hit the floor, but instead they nodded quickly and Riley ran over to her first, completely ignoring the fact that she is a vampire. "COME ON… SIT!" He exclaimed, grabbing her pale hand, "Make yourself at home!"

"I plan to." She grinned and winked over to Drake who started chuckling and shaking his head. "Now…" Her face grew serious as her dark brown eyes poured into his amber ones, "Time for your training."

* * *

**AN:** OKAY! So we found out that Drake is a half vampire **(Known as Dhampir, but people just say vampire or half vampire ;D) **

We found out that half vampires can walk in the sun without burning, their skin remains the same color until he's thirsty, his heart beats, and they can either be born into it or they're changed by having vampire blood in their system. We also learned that _HALF VAMPIRES GROW_ until they reach a full age. For Drake's case: **He will stop growing when he hits twenty years of age... but half vampires grow quickly so it's all good for him :)**

We also learned that Drake's birthday is: October 31st._ Ironic huh?_

_HOW DO YOU LIKE AURORA? _She seems cool, but is she trust worthy? **;) **I liked Riley and Evan's reaction when they saw her.

I like that Drake has a mentor... but when he's old enough, do you think he'll have feelings for her? _:O Uh-oh, trouble in paradise for when **Victoria **sees him again, huh?_

_**Next chapter,** we're gonna skip a few years and go back to the kingdom to check on our favorite girl Victoria :)_

_-Shadow  
_


	14. Born for this

**Born for this**

The swings swayed with the usual fall breeze and Victoria Morlet stood upon them, swinging back and forth slowly. Her black knitted beret made the golden shade in her hair stand out and the darker pieces remained hidden as beautiful natural curls fell down to the middle of her back. The breeze whipped her hair around lightly and her greenish blue eyes fixated on one person and one person only. Cole Archer.

"Well look at you…" He smiled awkwardly as he made his way over to the fifteen-year-old, "I haven't seen you in… well forever!"

"Makes you think doesn't it?" She answered sarcastically and his smile fell, she still hadn't forgiven him for what he had done to her best friend, "Go away."

"Victoria, please… It's not my fault and you can't blame this on me!" Cole pleaded and his dark eyes were glassy, "I told him to take a sip and he drank the entire thing like it was fruit punch!"

"Oh, but even giving him a sip makes everything sound better? YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, _COLE_." The beauty couldn't help but yell at him; he was and still is an idiot. She jumped off the swing and as soon as her foot in the wood chips the brunette looked him straight in the eyes, "You don't know what vampire blood does to you, and you were stupid enough to give it to him just to prove something!" He opened his mouth to defend himself but she quickly cut him off, "The only thing YOU proved was that you're a jackass who doesn't think twice!"

While turning her back on him, the darker teenager frowned and kicked the wood chips with his foot, "Vee… please." He pleaded and she froze in place, slowly turning to face him.

"Don't you ever call me that…" Victoria threatened and his eyes widened, "Ever…"

"It's your nickname!" He exclaimed while grabbing her arm gently but she reacted quickly, and shoved him away from her.

"Not to you, it isn't!" Victoria snapped and Cole sighed, deciding to just give up on her. She turned her head again and began walking back towards the castle, but he started talking, she hoped to tune him out but sometimes that seemed impossible.

"I know I made a mistake…" Cole began as he chased after her, following behind, "And I know that you've been pissed off this entire time at me for it… but Victoria, he's d-dead…" The beauty stopped and turned back to look at him as tears flooded his dark eyes, "And there's no use fighting over it anymore… I-it's not going to bring him back. I miss him too, Victoria... I miss him a lot! Aside from Danny, he was apart of the trio! Not even Ayden or Nick can replace him..." She remained silent, feeling tears form in her own eyes and he shook his head, "I-I'm sorry... For everything."

From that moment on, Victoria wasn't sure what happened, she wrapped her arms around the boy and held him close to her. There's a fine line between love and hate, and the truth is, she never actually hated him, she only thought she did. "Cole, I'm sorry I've been such a bitch… I just… I couldn't get over-"

"Shhh…" Cole whispered softly and held her closely, "It's ok, I get it. He was your best friend... You miss him."

_A best friend I had feelings for_, Victoria thought in a correcting voice but shook that away from her mind, "Maybe… we should start over." The brunette stated after pulling away from him, her light eyes pouring into his dark ones, "That way we can pretend this never happened."

"Y-You want to pretend that none of this ever happened?" He asked in a rather doubtful voice, "That Drake never existed?"

"Well, no... not that part of it, but that you gave him the blood in the first place. I can't ever forget about him, no matter how hard I try." She frowned and touched the ring that now dangled on a silver chain around her neck, the intelligent beauty turned it into a necklace since her fingers and hands have grown from age ten. "I just wish I can stop thinking about him, but... I-I can't! and it hurts every single time..."

"Sometimes when you can't stop thinking about someone, it's your subconscious telling you that they're supposed to be there." Cole began while shoving his hands into his sweatshirt pockets, "That's what happened with you and now look... we're friends again!"

"What are you saying, Cole?" She asked with confused eyes and his eyebrows scrunched together, "You thought about me... yes, we are friends again... but if I keep thinking about Drake, it's not going to bring him back."

The darker boy frowned and nodded his head slowly... almost unsure of himself, "Yes, but maybe you wont allow yourself to forget about him... Look at this." He pointed to the ring that hung around her neck on the silver chain. She touched it and immediately saw Drake's smiling face in her mind, "You wear that every day, I haven't seen you without it once since he died... that ring will make you constantly think about him. If you just took it off-"

"I'm not. Taking. It. Off." She said through clenched teeth and Cole's eyes widened as he nodded slowly, "I don't care if the ring makes me think about him twenty four seven, I'm not taking the damn thing off. It's the only thing I have that keeps me close to him!"

"And your memories don't?" The boy asked with raised eyebrows. Victoria shook her head and he sighed heavily, feeling defeated.

"Not close enough, the ring is something he gave to me, it makes me feel warm and makes me think that he's still here." She stated boldly and Cole nodded his head, coming to the conclusion that he was stepping on eggshells. He couldn't make her do anything she didn't want to do, even if it would help her. Victoria wasn't the same as she used to be when she was a little girl, she was much more playful and fun then... Now? He observed at school, that responsibility comes first, she mostly hangs around Ayden and her brother... but when it's a group it consists of Danny, Alison and Shayna. Whenever Cole would go over to the group, she'd leave. She's much more quiet now... she's lost herself. "I should get going... I promised my mom I'd be home as soon as I visited the park."

"Why?" He couldn't help but ask, the word just shot out from his mouth.

"She wants me to talk with my brother... He's having a hard time after all these years with people in his grade." She admitted with a slight blush on her fair skin, "I'm not sure what I can do about it... but... I have to try and get through to him."

"Can we..." Cole began and her eyebrows scrunched together, "Go out sometime?"

Victoria's insides were frozen as her heart pounded heavily against her chest, "Um..." She began and blushed a deep red, not because she liked him more than a friend, but whenever people asked her out, she got embarrassed or flattered, "S-Sure... That'd be nice." _WHAT? Victoria, no it wouldn't!_ She mentally slapped herself, but ignored it and played it off well, keeping a poker face. _Just give him a chance... What's wrong with a little experience?_

"R-Really?" Cole asked with wide, astonished, eyes and she nodded her head, confirming it, "O-Okay!" The boy exclaimed and smiled broadly, "I'll think of something to do and I'll let you know at school!"

The brunette nodded again, sticking her cold hands into her pockets, "Sounds good." Her voice didn't sound too thrilled, but he didn't care. He was blinded by excitement to even notice. "Bye." She grinned sweetly and he smiled back just before she turned around and headed towards the castle, the smile fading quickly from her perfect lips, and a frown replaced it. _I'm sorry, Drake… I feel like I'm betraying you._

* * *

While skidding across the cool autumn ground, leaves flew everywhere and Aurora stood over Drake, baring her fangs while gripping his shirt and pulling him towards her. "See..." She spoke softly and dropped him to the floor, "You aren't being fast enough, a vampire attack is too fast for the human eye to see, but for us, we have an advantage."

Drake shook his perfect dark auburn hair out, everything looked different about him physically. The long, messy hair he had as a child was cut and perfectly styled so that it went in all different directions, he looked as if he were eighteen years of age, but biologically, he was only sixteen. The half vampire stood from the ground, playfully glaring over to Aurora. "You know I suck at this."

"No you don't." She stated with knowing eyes, "You choose to let me beat you and I don't understand why you don't tr-"

"Oh c'mon..." He smirked and her eyes poured into his, "Have you looked in a mirror?"

"Actually, I have, there's nothing special, and you need to... DRAKE." She growled watching as his eyes went down to her chest, but he quickly snapped out of it, looking into her eyes, "FOCUS."

"I WAS!" He grinned and impatiently, the woman growled while crossing her arms over her chest, "Ok, ok... I'm concentrating now... H-Hey Rora..." He started and she nodded her head, silently telling him to continue speaking, "I've noticed this but I've never asked... How is it that you can walk in the sun?"

"Oh, well like vampires... witches also exist." She said quietly and his eyes widened, he was a warlock after all, "And I've known a few witches who have helped me out with that situation, though, I had to prove myself loyal to them." Aurora's dark eyes examined him and Drake tilted his head to the side, "See, you get the best of both worlds… you can live forever, stay young, and walk in the sun without having a little spell surrounding you."

He rolled his amber eyes and kicked some leaves off his shoes, "I don't understand why anyone would **want **to live forever, I can't see myself being here for eternity."

"You just need something to live for." Her voice was soft as her pale hands touched his face, "And you can't see yourself living forever because, you already died once, and right now, this isn't the best time for you, you are still learning, though I'm proud. You've learned to control your thirst quite well."

"Well, I had help from the best." He grinned and she took her hand away from his face, "If it wasn't for you, I'm sure Riley and Evan would have disappeared too... I think living with them is extremely selfish, but..."

"It was a selfish decision." She said softly with a slight shrug of her shoulders, "But the decision has been made already, and they've helped you with a different kind of life style, I also believe that smelling their blood and their scent every day has helped you immensely. You've learned to control it faster." Drake smiled and nodded, but she continued talking, "Just remember not to make such selfish decisions when you're more on your own, I can't tell you what's right and what's wrong when you are of age, Drake... But you'll know and understand when your being selfish, and when that happens, I want you to stop it. It'll only kill your conscience, and a vampire that is upset is never a good thing."

"Because our emotions are heightened?" He asked with a frown and she sighed heavily, sitting down in the leaves, not caring about dirt getting on her clothes... he followed suitably.

"Yes that... and because when vampires get upset, they tend to want to shut off emotion completely. It's like a switch... except something may substitute in... like anger, violence, or hatred... you'll feel out of control again, but when the deed is done, there is no going back and you snap out of it immediately only to realize what you've done." Her eyes seemed lost as they fixated on the ground, "You may be able to turn off emotion, but that doesn't mean your conscience isn't filled. You'll even drown in your own guilt..."

He sighed heavily and looked at her through his amber eyes, "I'm guessing you've had personal experience?"

"Every vampire has." She stated bitterly and grabbed a leaf with her pale fingers, tearing it apart, "Let's just hope when you experience such things, you wont get it as bad."

"What happened to you?" Drake asked as he remembered how he killed his own father... how upset and out of control he became. It wasn't just because he was new at being a vampire, it was because of the guilt that he was drunk with.

"We should get going." The woman changed the subject fast, but her eyes rested on his face and she seemed to be going in a trance, "If only you had blue eyes..."

Drake's eyebrows scrunched together and confusion poured into his head, "W-What?" Aurora's eyes widened and she shook her head, coming out of the trance, but she realized what she had said.

"Nothing." She stated firmly and Drake's eye brows shot up, "It's nothing... I was having a moment." There was silence between the two, and Drake was tempted to ask more questions, but she continued talking, "Anyway, did you know that certain vampires have certain powers?"

"Powers?" Drake asked showing that he was indeed interested in THIS topic, "What kind of powers?"

"Like Telepathy, telekinesis, clairvoyance, empathy... Everyone has different powers, of course, some are made without powers, though, I'm wondering if you have any." She studied him and he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm probably one of those... You know..." He grinned, "The ones that don't have any powers." He never mentioned he was a warlock.

"No... There's something radiating off of you." She observed softly and he shrugged his shoulders again, "There is also things you aren't telling me, but that is only equal and fair... There aren't things that I'm telling you either."

"Clearly..." He muttered, remembering how she said something about blue eyes and not only that... other things as well, "So what is your power?"

"My main power or... gift... is telekinesis... I-I can also clone..." She said quietly and he raised his eyebrows, "But it isn't in the way you think, it doesn't happen quickly, in fact it may take years for the clone to show up..."

"Why would you clone somebody? And why would it take so long?" He asked with interested eyes and she shook her head.

"It isn't a specialty of mine, I just know how to do it... and... it has to wait for the perfect moment, I suppose..." He frowned, wanting to know more, but she quickly jumped to her feet, grinning over at him, "I want to find out your gift."

"Well, how would I find it out?" Drake asked while tilting his head and getting to his feet, "How did you find out about yours?"

"It'll come with time." Aurora stated firmly while crossing her arms over her chest, "I found out about mine when I was severely pissed off one day, I didn't realize it at the time, but I was concentrating on an object and I accidentally threw it across a field. It works against enemies though... Cloning isn't a gift, it's just something I learned."

"So should I just start getting mad at things?" He teased lightly and Aurora laughed while shaking her head, "I know, I know... I'll probably find mine out differently... If I even have one."

"I'm sure you do... There's power radiating off of you." She said lightly with a simple shrug of her shoulders, "And I'm not talking about you being a warlock either."

This time, Drake's eyes widened and he stared at her with disbelief, "HOW... HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?"

"I've been around witches and warlocks my entire existence, Drake. I can sense magic on you, but there's also a gift." She scoffed and let out a wry laugh, "It's like... you were made for this life."

"I guess so..." Drake smiled softly and his amber eyes lifted towards the sky noticing that the sun was indeed setting, it had to be around seven or even eight o clock, he didn't need to look at a watch or cellphone.

"We should get going before the crazy's come out to play." Aurora stated and started towards the house in human speed, but once she didn't hear him coming with, she turned around quickly, "Drake?"

"You go on..." He implied and she raised her eyebrows, "I'm gonna catch a bite to eat before I go in."

"Well I should come with you." She answered quickly and started towards him, but he shook his head, motioning for her to go inside. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, Rora. I can be on my own for a little." He grinned, showing his pearly white teeth and she rolled her eyes, practically giving into him. Though, he was used to it... everywhere he went, women threw themselves at him, some attractive, some... not quite.

As soon as the female vampire disappeared and ran off to the house using her super speed, Drake sighed and walked through the woods at a slow pace. No vampires were around here, at least since he's moved into this house and they had no reason to attack him anyway, he isn't HUMAN. While kicking leaves, branches and puddles of water out of his way, the young vampire sighed and stared off into the night seeing absolutely nothing but darkness and trees. "This is where I belong." He said to no one in particular, "I was born for this... Fate has led me here..." Shortly after speaking, he heard breathing... heavy breathing.

The young vampire's eyes widened as his body froze and tensed up. Someone was watching him... but who? Turning impossibly fast, his eyes scanned the dark area, but no one was standing there... the breathing stopped and was replaced by constant laughter and that fluttered all around him. "Aurora, I swear to God if that's-" He turned around and came face to face with a man who was shorter than Drake, slightly balding, but blood dribbled down from his fangs and he had an insane look in his dark brown eyes.

"BOO!" He obnoxiously laughed and Drake took a step back, "I AIN'T GONNA HURT CHA!" He laughed again and Drake glared at him though his amber eyes. "Ah, the doppelganger..."

The word took the young vampire for a whirl, "Sorry?" He finally choked out and the man tilted his head to the side, taking a step towards Drake.

"The doppleganger... You're the doppleganger." He repeated the word over and over, but Drake still had no idea what it meant.

"Yeah, you keep saying that... It's too bad I have no clue what it MEANS." The eighteen year old pulled his jacket onto his shoulder and began walking towards the boarding house, but the vampire cut him off and grabbed him by the neck.

"YOUR THE DOPPLEGANGER..." He continued saying with a growl and Drake suffocated in his grasp. It was only obvious that he couldn't die again, but the pain was torturing him. The older looking vampire lifted Drake into the air and pinned him against a tree, where a branch stabbed his side, but it didn't go through his heart. The young vampire screamed and winced from the pain the wood caused him and the man let him go, allowing him to fall to the ground, "If you don't come with me... I will kill you."

As Drake regained strength he kicked the mans legs so they caved in from underneath him, his light olive hands gripping around his throat, and he used all his strength to pin the idiot to the floor, "Do you enjoy having your head connected to your body?" The man didn't answer, so instead of being a nice guy, Drake gripped a branch and dug it into the man's side. "Pay backs a bitch, isn't it?" The man shrieked and he grabbed the branch from his side and threw it to the right, wincing from the pain, "Now TELL ME WHAT YOU MEANT."

"You wouldn't rip my head off..." He stated as he huffed and puffed. Drake growled viciously, he wasn't going to let up on this situation.

"I could rip your head off and not think twice about it." He said threateningly, and the man still doubted him. Drake shrugged while running over to a tree, snapping a branch off of it, as if it were a small twig, and ran back over to him, holding it like a baseball bat. "Oh well... Sucks to be you, buddy..." He replied sarcastically, and prepared to swing the branch like a bat, wishing to knock his repulsive head off.

"H-HOW... COULD YOU SIDE WITH HER?" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in front of his face and Drake stopped dead, glaring down at him.

"I don't side with anyone, not anymore..." Obviously, he was lying, the only people he'd ever side with would be Riley, Evan and Aurora... but he didn't want him to know about them... about him hanging around humans, especially when their living area is so close to the woods. "You piss me off, I want you dead."

"YOU'RE SIDING WITH AURORA!" He shouted and Drake tilted his head to the side, lowering the branch. How did he know about Aurora? "SH-SH-SHE'S NOT WHO YOU THINK SHE IS!"

"Really?" Drake asked and the vampire nodded his head continuously, "Then what's a doppleganger? Because APPARENTLY, that's what _I _am. You just seem to have it all figured out, don't you?"

"W-WHY DON'T YOU GO ASK _HER_." He cried out and held his side... it was taking him a long time to heal, and normally the older the vampire, the stronger they are. He must have just been turned... either that or he was turned a couple of years ago, Drake's been a vampire for over five years now.

"Now why would I go all the way over there... when I have **YOU **to tell me?" Drake smirked and the man's eyes widened as he shook his head continuously.

"S-She knows more!" He exclaimed and Drake's smile soon disappeared, "T-The doppleganger curse, she's the one who created it!" _Doppleganger curse?_ Drake thought with a frown, _I'm a curse? _While hearing enough, the young vampire threw the branch to the side and offered his hand to the older man. He hesitantly gripped it, and Drake clutched his hand tightly, flipping him onto the ground.

"WHAT'S your name?" Drake asked him and the older man gulped hard.

"J-John..." He stated softly, even though the young vampire thought he was lying.

"Well then, **JOHN**, Listen up. You don't ever... threaten me again." Drake spoke through his teeth and the older looking vampire nodded his head and winced slightly, "And who ever has you doing their dirty work for them..." He figured that a newborn vampire wouldn't be coming after him right off the bat, someone has a plan going, and he's part of it... but he's going to find out exactly who it is, "Tell the little bitches to come get me themselves. I'm done playing games." John nodded again and Drake let him go, watching as he took off swiftly and nervously. Someone knows exactly why he turned out like this, and he had a feeling it had everything to do with that man at the gate... the hooded figure.

* * *

**AN:** Hm, something tells me Aurora isn't being one hundred percent truthful... but I think she's trying to be, but maybe she can't. ): REMEMBER HER LINE: **"It's like... you were made for this life." **_and think of the title of the chapter. _**How could that fit in?  
**

I wonder what Drake's power will be :) Prolly somethin' cool ;) We all want Drake to have an awesome power.

WHOA... **VICTORIA**, GO BACK!... GO BACK! DON'T GO WITH COLE **DX** Ugh, whatever xD We'll see how that goes. Poor Victoria, she's so lost but she's strong... Just like Nala is, and if you don't think she's strong, you haven't seen anything yet ;)

The man who attacked Drake... what do you think he knows? I enjoyed Drake's little threats, they made me happy. This is sort of a The Lion king story, mixed with The Vampire Diaries **[Awesome show BTW, if you like my stories, I suggest you check it out... it was bloody amazing ;)]**

**DON'T KNOW WHAT A DOPPLEGANGER IS? **Either wait to find out, or look it up. _It's an actual term ;)_**  
**

-Shadowland.


	15. The truth will set you free

**The truth will set you free**

Victoria walked through the castle doors and her greenish blue eyes fixated on Isabelle as she made her way over to her daughter, "Hello, Victoria." She said with a small smile, then her green eyes shifted to the right and back to her daughter, "He's in the kitchen area... talking with Ayden and Phil... Please, try and get through to him, I don't want him doing something stupid..."

"I will mom." Victoria said softly and brushed passed her, walking straight over to the kitchen. Her turquoise eyes landed on a tiny fairy that seemed to be fluttering around the room, cleaning things and cooking dinner, while Ayden sat at a table, talking to Nick in a rather low voice. The beautiful brunette frowned as she walked over to her little brother and best friend. "What's goin' on... Couldn't help but notice you two look like your up to something. Whatever it is, I'm in."

"How about drinking until your body goes numb?" Nick suggested and Victoria glared over to him, "I'm so sick of always being left out at school, Vee... None of this is fair."

"Why do you care so much about them?" The brunette asked with a simple shake of her head, "They're all idiots... and you hang out with all of us anyway. The older kid's have your back." She winked and Ayden smiled with a simple nod.

"Yeah but in class we'll do group projects and no one wants to be in a group with me, they think I'm lame and stupid." He frowned while crossing his arms over his chest, "They're always making fun of me... This is why I wish Drake was here!" This took Victoria by surprise and she immediately touched the necklace that hung from her neck, "Whenever he was around and saw the other kids making fun of me, he'd stop them and they'd listen because he was the prince!"

"Dude, there's nothing we can do about that." Ayden frowned, his deep blue eyes glancing over to Nick's older sister, "Drakes... "

"I know." Nick groaned and shook his head, "He's dead, I get it!" Victoria winced and Ayden sighed heavily, "I don't need to hear it again..."

"Then don't bring him up!" Victoria stated firmly, "Drake can't help you, but he'll guide you. Stick up for yourself and everything will be alright, the kids will have a new respect for you."

"You don't think I never tried that?" Nick asked sarcastically, "It doesn't help. Then they all team up on you... MY LIFE SUCKS!" The younger kid kicked over a bucket of cleaning soaps and Phil stopped dead and glared at him, "S-Sorry, Phil."

"YOU BETTER BE!" The fairy exclaimed and rushed over to the bucket immediately, "It took me forever just to clean the floors!"

"Why don't you just use magic?" Ayden asked with a raised eyebrow and Phil glared over to him, "Oh right... You can only disappear and fly... my bad."

"Why you ungrateful-" The tiny fairy began and Nick and Victoria started laughing, covering their mouths with their hands.

"PHIL." The 'king's' voice approached everyone's ears and the tiny fairy's eyes widened with fear. "Where are my slippers they seem to be mis-" His light green eyes fixated on the three kids in the kitchen and he rolled his eyes, "Wonderful..." but Victoria had noticed that the king's eyes settled on her and tore his vision away. "Phil, find my slippers, I can't relax with out them, OH and if you could make me a cup of tea... that would be excellent."

"COMING RIGHT UP!" Phil exclaimed with a rather fake smile and once the king left, the smile faded and the tiny fairy fluttered over to the cabnet, grabbing the tea packages and cups, "Royal pain in the ass."

* * *

Drake stalked through the trees while going back to the boarding house, he had so many questions, but he didn't even know where to start! How could she lie to him about something so big? If he were a curse, then why on earth wouldn't she tell him the first day they met?

At impossibly fast speed, Drake ran inside the house, slamming the door, though he didn't mean to, and he was almost positive a little piece of wood flew off. "D-Drake?" Evan asked with wide eyes and the young vampire ignored him, walking over to the staircase. "Drake!" He tried again and the vampire turned around to look at him, "Are you ok? You seem ups-"

"I'm fine." He cut his friend off and shot up the stairs so fast, that to a human it looked like he disappeared into thin air. Finally, he reached the trapdoor to his bedroom and he pushed it open, climbing into it and glancing around. His ancestor had to have had something about a curse or a doppelganger in here, possibly in one of his journals. The young vampire made it over to the bookshelf and he rummaged through the books, coming across one that seemed to be hidden in the back… He grabbed it and flipped through the pages until he came across a familiar looking day… His best friend's birthday… Victoria Morlet.

_June 24__th__, 1704_

"_I cannot believe my own eyes, but it has finally happened. My dearest older brother has banned the existence of vampires in my kingdom, but I have different arrangements… This is a plan so tremendous in size that I know I cannot do it alone. While making promises the other vampires, I stated that we would have our kingdom back…that we can open the gates forever… but I cannot do it without a special key. _

_From the moment I started to vanish from the castle, swiping my hand through Thaddeus's body… I knew I had to counteract this curse, and I knew I had to make it fast before it was too late. Almost immediately, I spoke to Aurora Jameson, who was a fellow vampire in the kingdom of Ashburn, and she had told me about the curse of the doppelganger. Her specialties were cloning and with that being known, I demanded that she cloned me, to make me a doppelganger, but not only will he be a ghostly double of me, he will be cursed and also will be the key… to my success."_

Doppelganger? It's a ghostly double? This didn't strike him at first, but something fell from the pages and lightly fluttered to the floor, landing face down. He raised his eyebrows noticing that there was neat writing on the back of the white sheet: _'William Ashburn 1704'_

_This must be a picture_, he thought and as the young vampire bent down, his light olive fingers touched the old photograph and grabbed it in his hands, turning it over only to see… himself; the doppelganger.

His heart stopped, he almost felt like he couldn't breathe… While reading the journal, he knew he was called the doppelganger, but he couldn't believe it… he felt that John was deranged. His head was spinning and he caught a presence standing near him, staring at him through dark brown eyes. "Drake?" The females voice entered his ears and the young vampire growled, finally able to come back to earth and grab a hold of himself, "Evan told me you looked very upset. Is everything alright?"

"You tell me." Drake growled and she raised her eyebrows as he walked over to her, placing the black and white picture of William Ashburn in her hands, "Look familiar to you?" Aurora stared at the picture for a moment, her body stiff and her eyes widening, allowing tears to form. He didn't even know vampires could cry, but he was too angry to care. "Thought so."

"W-WHAT DO YOU KNOW?" She asked as the tears escaped from her dark eyes and she watched as Drake crossed his arms over his chest, although, his right hand was still clutching the book.

"I know that I'm a doppelganger… a look a like of this freak show!" Drake growled and motioned towards her hands. _Why would he do this to me?_ The young vampire thought and then his amber eyes fixated on the beauty that stood in front of him, _why would she help him?_

"There's… so much you don't know, Drake." Aurora began with continuous shakes of her head and the boy remained quiet, "W-William Ashburn… He was the most angry out of everyone and he made promises to all the vampires that he would somehow get us all back in…" She paused and took a deep breath when admitting this next secret to him, "Me being his '_lover_' at the time, supported him one hundred percent and I devoted my time to him… making this stupid curse work. Drake, I wasn't lying to you before when I said you were born to take on this life, you were made for this…"

"BUT WHY?" Drake growled and the woman sighed heavily.

"Do you know what it means to be a _doppelganger_?" Aurora asked and Drake shook his head, though, he still grimaced down at her, "It mean's that one is alive, while the other isn't… The moment you see that ghostly double, it could mean illness, danger… but mainly, it means **death**." This struck him hard… _death_… the gate… the hooded figure. Everything was starting to click now. She nodded her head realizing that he was starting to understand and place the pieces together, "You needed to die in order to become a vampire and lead this kind of life… to open the gates of Ashburn, and you needed to be the doppelganger."

"But why ME?" Drake asked, an eerie feeling creeping up his spine. "It could have been anyone else down the line BUT YOUR STUPID CURSE chose me."

"It isn't MY curse... it's Williams." She stated proudly, "I helped him get it." He hung his head mainly because he felt cheated out on a wonderful… beautiful life. "You're here… because of me."

"I'd rather not be here at all." Drake spat back at her and she frowned deeply watching as he walked over to the window.

"Drake!" She exclaimed and he didn't dare turn to face her… he felt betrayed and that this entire time, he was living a LIE. He was never meant to be a prince or be king… he was meant to open the damn gates forever and probably get killed. "Please look at me."

"How can I?" He asked and turned slowly, wishing that she would just disappear, "You kept this away from me when I deserved to know!" Half of him wished that he never met her... but the other half was grateful, she did after all help him control himself. "At the gate... Before I died... I saw him... Or I think it was him... Except, he had these blue eyes-"

"I know." Aurora stated and Drake's eyebrows scrunched together as he started to turn back to her slowly, "William Ashburn has blue eyes... the most beautiful eyes that you will ever see... You got brown."

"But I thought we were supposed to be ghostly doubles." He was starting to get frustrated with this entire situation, it didn't make any sense to him!

"You still are. You both are identical, the only way we probably can tell you apart is from your eyes... sometimes when one makes a doppelganger curse, it doesn't work in all ways. Sometimes the eyes turn differently, or the shape of one's lips are different... But the faces are exactly the same." Drake frowned and Aurora continued on, "He's also paler than you. You have light olive skin because your a half vampire... before he was a vampire, he was the same exact way."

There was a moment of silence between the two and the young vampire looked into Aurora's dark eyes, "Just one thing... and I want the damn truth." She nodded and he continued on, "Can I TRUST you?"

"YES!" Aurora exclaimed and Drake stared at her with doubtful eyes, "Drake, believe me... I needed to escape. I've been running _AWAY _from William!" His eyes widened, why on earth would she run from him? "He's been trying to kill me ever since I made the spell, HE'S. **_EVIL_**."

_Oh no.._. Drake thought, only because he realized he told John in the woods that whoever he was working for, tell them to come get him themselves... "W-William might be coming here..."

"WHAT?" Aurora shouted almost immediately and the young vampire shook his head over and over, "HOW? WHY? DOES HE KNOW YOUR HERE? IN THIS HOUSE?... IN HIS HOUSE?"

"T-There was a guy in the woods named John! He was working for William, he kept calling me a doppelganger and said to ask YOU about it... I got pissed off because he threatened me and I told him that whoever he's working for... tell them to come get me themselves because I was done with this..." Aurora's mouth dropped and she started shaking her head, "HE'S COMING HERE."

"We need to leave." She stated firmly and shot towards the trap door, "NOW."

"Aurora, NO!" Drake exclaimed and the vampire turned to look at him with wide dark eyes, "You have to face him! You can't keep running away from the problems!"

"Believe me when I say this, Drake... THE MOMENT YOU OPEN THOSE GATES FOR HIM, HE WILL END YOU." She said it slowly and articulated everything to get it through his thick head. "YOU AREN'T STRONG ENOUGH... HE'S AN OLD VAMPIRE!"

"Maybe I'm not... but I don't want to keep running." The young vampire stated, "He may be evil, but I'm not going to run anymore... I've ran away from home and... this is my home now."

She frowned and shuffled her feet against the hardwood floor, "Your parents must miss you..." Aurora's voice was soft and sweet, "Mine didn't... They thought I was evil because of what happened to me... I didn't turn by choice, none of us did."

"How did you turn?" He decided to get off the subject on his 'parents' missing him. Truth be told, he only had one left because of some stupid situation.

"Let's just say... I lied to you about my age. I'm older than three hundred and ninety eight, I thought... since you were so clever and all, that you'd figure out I was around when Thaddeus placed the curse over the kingdom. Truth me told, vampire's can only get invited in a house anywhere... but since Riley and Evan do not legally own that house, it isn't there's to say who goes in and who doesn't." She paused and sat down on a wooden chair as Drake listened to her intently, "It was the summer of 1704 and William was building up an army of vampires..."

_A young, twenty two year old woman with blackish brown hair, fair skin, and a thin body, ran through the darkened forest to sneak back into her house. The darkness that engulfed around her made her paranoid, and the long red dress she wore wasn't making all this sneaking around easy. Hearing a twig snap in the distance caused the young woman to stop and look around with wide dark eyes, "H-HELLO?" She called out, feeling a chill run up her spine. Sinister laughter filled her ears and it came from all around her. This was enough evidence to her that someone was planning to kill her, so instead of looking around, she ran off, grabbing a hold of her dress and lifting it slightly off the ground._

_Glancing backwards was the worst mistake the young woman had ever made, but being so paranoid all the time caused her to do such an idiotic thing. The moment she turned her head, her body smacked into something so hard, that she stumbled backwards and hit the ground. Her dark eyes met his electric blue ones and he smirked down at her. "Aurora Jameson." He said lightly and she continued to be silent, knowing exactly what he was, "I've been expecting you." She gulped hard, but found herself frozen in place, "Welcome to the team, love." And from there, he struck her neck like a cobra waiting to strike it's pray, blood was everywhere and when she woke up, she was surrounded by other blood thirsty new vampires..._

_"W-What's going on?" She asked and a vampire glared down at her, not wanting to speak with a woman, "PLEASE, I'M SO LOST!" Her pale hands touched his arm and he snatched it away from her._

_"SHUT IT, I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK WITH YOU." The man growled and Aurora's eyes filled up with tears as he began walking away from her. She turned and looked at another man and saw he was standing next to a woman._

_"Excuse me!" She exclaimed and the man turned his head, as did the woman... "What is going o-"_

_"Ah, young Aurora." William's velvet voice popped into her ears and she turned quickly, watching him as he approached her, "Welcome."_

_"TO WHAT!" She growled, getting rather frustrated with everything, and then the pain started... her fangs were coming in and it had to be the more torturous thing she has ever experienced, death was easier than this. A scream escaped and her pale hand cupped her mouth, praying that it would stop everything._

_"To hell." He grinned sinisterly and began walking away. Tears flooded from her eyes and once the pain was over, she felt light headed but knew that she wasn't going to faint. Her dark eyes watched him leave and without hesitation, she ran over to him, using her new found super speed. _

_"WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?" Aurora growled as she stood in front of him and he tilted his head to the side. The moment their faces were close, he leaned in and kissed her deeply on the lips... her emotions weren't controlled, in fact they were heightened, and the moment their lips met, she placed her hands around his neck, bringing herself closer to him... but that was only until he broke away._

_"Because I love you, Rora." He grinned and she smiled slightly, watching as he began to walk away at a human's pace, "And I have big plans for you..."_

"... Little did I know that he was the biggest pimp you'd ever meet in your life, and he never truly loved me... but I fell for him, which was my biggest mistake." She frowned deeply and Drake did as well... he never knew his ancestor, or... doppelganger, was so mean, "He played me to get what he wanted... which was to make the curse for him, and shortly after that, he made plans to kill me because... Well, let's just say I knew too much."

"He's an asshole, Aurora... and you're a beautiful woman..." Drake said softly and she smiled as he spoke. "You don't need him."

"I know." She confirmed with a slight nod of her head, "And I've known that since I've started running... I've outsmarted him in so many ways, he didn't like that too much... and that John character... he doesn't want you with me, because I'm a threat to William."

"How? I thought he was stronger than you?" Drake asked with his eyebrows scrunched together and she frowned deeply.

"Don't hate me, but... William wanted me dead because I made the curse of the doppelganger, and as quick as I made it... I can take it away." Drake's eyes widened and she nodded her head, "He wont have his precious gates open and all will be lost for him. That's why he sent John after you, to take you to him..."

"If that's what we must do!" Drake exclaimed with a nod, "Then do it, I don't want this... clearly you don't either."

"I don't want the people of Ashburn to get killed or enslaved... but I'm not going to take away you're life. You aren't just a curse, you are a living person... Er... an undead person." She grinned and he sighed gently, "And I also can't do it... because you look like him..."

"Wouldn't that make you angry?" Drake asked with a growl, "Why do you love him so much?"

"Because of the way he treated me before he tried to kill me, and when I see you... I see him." She admitted, and if she could blush... she probably would have, "Hell, I would have thought you were him if I hadn't seen you grow... and if your eyes were blue."

Drake walked a little closer to her and he took her hand in his, kissing the front of it lightly, "I promise I'll keep you safe... I have way's to get what I want, Aurora." He stated and she stared at him in his eyes, "I know a way to stop him from harming anyone..."

"And how is that?" She asked, snatching her hand away from him; obviously, she wasn't too comfortable about this, "He'll kill and not think twice about it." The young vampire studied at how she pulled her hand away from him and in his mind, he mentally slapped himself.

Drake sighed heavily and she moved away from him, a feeling of worry taking over, "Let's just say... all will be lost if something _bad _happened to me."

* * *

**AN:** Damn, there's a lot of information in this chapter, right?

I added the Phil and Scar scene for some humor in this darker chapter XD Victoria and Ayden seem to be trying to hold things together, but it isn't working for them.

Drake is the doppelganger of William Ashburn who is an EX lover of Aurora. Funny how William called her Rora and then **Drake did as well unknowingly**... So she isn't bad... in fact, John was the bad guy... but does this mean trouble for Aurora, Drake, Riley and Evan? After all... that was William's old house and since Riley nor Evan legally own it, he can walk in it and kill whoever he pleases... Let's just hope that Drake's plan is going to work... whatever it may be ;)

Anyone else get mad when Drake kissed Aurora's hand? I did... XD but she either **A**. Doesn't like him like that or **B**. Finds the resemblence way too creepy and doesn't want to take part in it again.

So... **_Doppelganger _**means illness, danger and in this case... it means death. Drake saw a hooded figure with electric blue eyes and a crooked smile standing at the gate, the same smile Drake gives off, but different eyes. He saw William Ashburn, his doppelganger, at the gate... and died instantly after.

Drake needed to become a doppelganger in order to die, so I guess thats where that plays into the story. XD and William wanted Aurora dead, because the one who creates the doppelganger can easily take it's life away... so she's a threat to him... hmmm XDDD we'll see how all of this plays out. I can't wait until Victoria finds him ;) This is all gonna be soooo interesting.

-Shadowland.


	16. To thine own self, be true

**AN:** So, to answer your questions. _Drake is born in October_, **Victoria is born in June**... Drake is indeed older than Victoria, but it isn't by an entire year. They are still in the same grade in school. So, Drake's older than Victoria by eight months. 

* * *

**To thine own self, be true**

"I still can't believe you agreed to go out with me." Cole's voice reverberated through Victoria's ears as they sat in a restaurant, a week after their little confrontation. The brunette beauty leaned back on the booth, feeling her back hit the seat and she sighed heavily.

"Me either." She admitted dryly flipping her long hair out of the way. For tonight's occasion, the brunette straightened her hair, thinking that when it was curly, it was far too fancy and more of an impressive looking style... although, she caught him staring at her all the time. "So, what else do we have planned today?" She asked, hoping to grab his attention away from her body, hair, or wherever else he seemed to be staring at, "Anything fun?"

"You know it!" He grinned and Victoria raised her eyebrows, "I heard that you enjoy walks in the parks... and that idea was confirmed with when I saw you there a week ago." The brunette frowned, she only walked there so much because that was Drake's favorite place to be, "So, I figured we can start there."

"That would be wonderful..." She said softly and a fake smile spread across her perfect lips, "But I-I'm not sure if I'm in the mood for walking in the park, maybe we should go see a movie or... um... go... laser tagging!" Cole seemed taken aback by this information, but she could tell in his eyes that he was willing to do that as long as she wanted to, "We should do that... It'll be fun."

"Well, it'll definitely be one to remember." Cole observed his clothes, "We aren't exactly in...running around material." Victoria glanced down at what she was wearing. A beautiful skirt, lacy top with a tight fitting leather jacket, and boots.

"Oh... who cares!" She smiled and made a hand gesture, letting him know that this didn't phase her, "I can still run." With this she gave him challenging eyes, "Don't worry pretty boy, I'll go easy on you."

"Go easy on me?" Cole grinned and shook his head, "Sorry, but I think it's gonna be the other way around!"

"Oh, you'll see!" Victoria smirked and once the waitress went up to their table, she set the bill down and walked away just as quickly. Cole grabbed it and grabbed his wallet out of his pockets and placed the money inside the tiny black book. With that, his dark eyes glanced up at Victoria, a smile pulling on his lips.

"Lets go." He stated and she grinned, getting up from the booth as they both made their way out of the restaurant, anxious to go and do something fun instead of a tedious walk in the park that involved more talking, which was something Victoria was not willing to do.

* * *

"So what should we do tonight?" Danny asked with a grin as Ayden, Nick, Shayna, and Alison showed up at their usual hangout, the Arcane Grill.

"There's seriously nothing to do." Shayna complained as she moved a menu out of her way, "I'm not even hungry either."

"I am!" Alison grinned while grabbing a menu and reading it over with much enthusiasm. Shayna stared at her for a minute before laughing lightly and shaking her head.

"Ali, you're always hungry!" She giggled and glanced over to Danny who started chuckling, and Ayden who shook his head with a slight smile on his face. "How about a game of pool? That can pass our time... girls against boys." Their eyes lit up, Ayden and Danny highfived one another and Nick smirked over to Shayna, "We'll see who really is better at pool!"

"Can I eat first?" Alison asked with a frown and everyone started laughing, not at her, but Alison was known for her humor and sweetness. "Oh c'mon guys! You know I have to get something here."

"Yes, you can eat first." Nick grinned and shrugged his shoulders, "We have all night, anyway... What else are we gonna do?"

"Exactly." Ayden confirmed and watched as a waiter walked over to their table, holding a tiny notebook with a pen.

"What can I get for you guys?" He smiled, mainly because he knew them as regulars, but their food choices change all the time.

"Oh, I want... the steak sandwich today, that sounds good right?" Alison asked and the waiter nodded his head while writing it down, "Oh! and can I have... a coke?" He nodded again and looked at the rest of the group.

"We'll all just have drinks..." Danny stated lightly and looked over at everyone, "Coke alright with everyone?" They nodded and he turned to the waiter smiling, "Four cokes should be good for us, thank you." The waiter wrote it down and disappeared, but as soon as that happened, someone walked through the door... someone no one wished to see, including Ayden and Nick. "Ugh, look who just showed up." Danny muttered while looking over at a tall, lanky man, with pitch black, wavy hair and a scar going down his eye. "King Scar."

Ayden and Nick rolled their eyes, wishing not to look at him. Ever since he took over the throne, the economy of Ashburn has failed immensely, prisoners who could be innocent are put to death because he feels that they killed his brother and nephew, and people have been out of jobs because he found no need to have them around anymore. "You know... I find it funny how both King James and Drake died on the same night... it all happened out of no where." Shayna observed with a frown. She was never a big fan of Drake, but he was immature then, she didn't like the other boys much either, but now she does, feelings could have been altered with him too.

Nick, Ayden and Danny all exchanged looks, they knew exactly what had happened with Drake, and how James probably got involved, but they decided to keep their mouths shut. Such things shouldn't be said. "I don't know..." Ayden began and his eyes now focused on a niche in the wooden table, "It was just... one of those things I guess... A freak accident."

"But, don't get me wrong, I am no fan of Drake... but he wasn't stupid. Why on earth did he go out on a full moon?" Shayna asked while crossing her arms over her chest, "If you ask me, it all sounds planned."

"A lot of people are saying that Scar meant to kill Drake and King James, but even if he did it... there's nothing anyone can do. If someone brings it up, we'd be put to death just like others who have said it." Alison stated firmly, "But I still don't think Scar would do that to his brother and nephew, no matter how bad he wants something. His conscious would be filled to the rim!"

"Well that's just it, isn't it?" Shayna asked with a roll of her eyes, "Scar has killed innocent people without even thinking! I believe that he would be crazy enough to do that, and I for one am extremely pissed off. At least if King James had died, Drake could have taken his place. I bet he would have been a MUCH better king that this asshole."

Within moments, the waiter came back holding a tray of pop and Alison's food. He placed it on the table and Ayden, Nick and Danny were glad for some type of distraction, they needed to break free of that memory; seeing it was their fault that he died, or they at least thought it was. They all believed that the vampire blood made him go crazy, which made the former king go after him... Allowing both of them to get killed. "Enjoy." He said softly and walked away from their table. Everyone grabbed their drinks and Alison was busy digging into her steak sandwich; and the awkward silence lingered.

* * *

"You know what we need?" Isabelle spoke up, and Elizabeth and Opal glanced up at her with confused expressions, "A girls night!"

"Every night is a girl's night." Opal stated with a tiny grin, "But... If you mean going out and having a girls night, I am one hundred percent with you." Isabelle smiled over to Opal, then glanced over to her best friend, raising her eyebrows.

"Is... I don't know." Elizabeth began and both woman pouted, giving their friend the puppy dog look, "No... Really, you two can go on without me."

"Hey!" Isabelle frowned and tugged on her friends arm, "We're all going out tonight, we're going to have fun... drink at the bar and forget about responsibilities for one night." Opal nodded encouragingly and Elizabeth smiled, it was a tempting idea, "C'mon, Liz... You need to get out more. Even doom and gloom escaped his throne for a little bit... Only God know's what the hell he's up to... but-"

"Ok, ok!" Elizabeth smiled, nodding her head, "I'm in. Where are we going?"

"Well, the kid's usually hang out at the Arcane grill, they have a bar there. We can go there." Opal suggested with a simple shrug, but her two other friends exchanged looks, "Oh, who cares if they see us there. We'll pretend we don't even know them." She giggled and the two other friends smiled warmly, realizing that it is a pretty good idea, and the grill was close to the castle.

"Alright!" The former queen exclaimed, getting to her feet, "Let's go ladies."

* * *

While running around through the mazes in the laser tag room, Victoria giggled as she held the gun in her hands, waiting for Cole to find her. Her blue-green eyes glanced around the area, but she was unable to see him; that was only until he appeared in front of her, pointing the gun at her. "Better Run, Victoria." He grinned and she started laughing as she picked the gun up, pointing it at Cole.

"I think YOU better run, Mister Archer." She stated sarcastically and he held his arms up in the air, telling her he means no harm, "Oh, it's a little too late for that." She giggled and with that, he turned around and began running away from her. Quickly, she chased after him, though he was much faster than she was, and soon he disappeared, hiding behind one of the corners. "I will find you, Cole." Her voice sounded intimidating, but he knew that this was all just fun and games.

While searching around, the beautiful brunette grew confused and she stopped dead in her tracks as her turquoise eyes fixated on a little boy with straight dark auburn hair, light olive skin and a broad smile. He waved at her playfully and Victoria tilted her head the the side, "Drake?" She asked and her body began moving towards him, but the closer she got, he began running away. "No! WAIT!" She exclaimed, and began sprinting after him, "WAIT!" As she turned the corner, no one was there and a frown tugged on her perfect lips. Where did he go? Victoria thought, but as soon as she turned around, Cole was behind her and he shot her in the vest with the laser gun.

"GOT YA!" He grinned, except she wasn't smiling, in fact she looked quite sad, "A-Are you ok?" Cole's voice sounded concerned and worried, but the brunette couldn't seem to snap out of it. Did she see Drake's ghost? Was he telling her that going out with Cole is ok? He seemed happy after all... and when she tried going after him... He ran away.

"Yeah." She stated with little shakes of her head, "I-I think I'm alright."

"What happened?" He asked and observed her coloring, "You look... paler than usual."

"I-I thought I saw something, but it was just my mind playing tricks on me." She replied in a tone of voice that didn't seem so sure.

"Maybe we should get going." He said lightly, "I guess it's getting kind of late, I should get you home before your mom starts to worry." His smile went ear to ear, but Victoria didn't return it. She nodded her head while taking the vest off quickly and walked towards the door. She couldn't get that image out of her head... He looked so real, she felt like she was ten again... That was the last time she saw him after all.

Cole followed her out and handed both the vests to the lady who worked the laser tag room, and he put his arm around Victoria, which was a little too much for her to handle right now, "You alright? Because... You don't look well..." He observed and she kept her eyes on the ground. There was a moment of silence between the two, and he sighed, "Did you see him?"

This caught the beauty by surprise and she turned to look at Cole, "H-How did you-"

"I know you, Victoria." He stated boldly and she raised her eyebrows, "You feel guilty that you're starting to forget about him."

"I'm not forgetting about him." Victoria snapped back and Cole shut his mouth, "I was having fun... and he... HE RUINED IT."

"It's not HIM." He replied in the same tone of voice, "It's YOU! You can't get HIM out of your head and you let him stay there, controlling your life!"

"I DO NOT." Victoria growled and shoved Cole away from her, "You know, this was beginning to be a pretty good night, and you're right... I was wrong, Drake didn't ruin it. **YOU **did." With that, she stalked past him and began walking home by herself in the dark. Cole frowned, watching as she left, and chased after her, grabbing the brunette's arm and pulling her back to him, "Cole, don't touch m-" He sealed this with a kiss and she shoved him away again, "WHAT THE HELL?"

"I love you, Victoria... I've always loved you!" He exclaimed and she began backing up, "I know I'm moving faster than what you wanted but I can't help it... Y-You're beautiful... you're perfect in every way! We're perfect for each other."

"I-I'm not perfect." She stated, but continued to back up, although, he didn't get the hint, he kept walking towards her, "COLE, LEAVE ME ALONE." He shook his head and she glared at him through her beautiful light eyes.

"Victoria, please... I'm not trying to hurt you!" He exclaimed and she shook her head, "I can't let you walk home alone... Let me walk you home and we can talk..."

"I DON'T WANT TO TALK." She snapped and he raised his eyebrows, "I'm done with this! I thought I can trust you, but clearly I can't!"

"What did I do?" He asked, total confusion taking over his face.

"You shouldn't come onto me like that." She replied in an angered voice, "Especially when I just decided last week that I could try and be your friend again!"

Cole looked dumbfounded, "I thought you wanted to go out with me because you liked me! Not because we were friends!"

"I gave you a chance, Cole... But you're being an idiot!" She exclaimed and heard someone come out of the bushes behind her. It didn't sound like an animal, so it made her turn around. Cole's eyes went wide and Victoria's green-blue eyes fixated on a pair of light green ones.

"I believe she doesn't want to go with you, Mister Archer." The king stated and Victoria eyed him suspiciously, "Leave her, I will take her home."

"B-BUT..." Cole began and Scar glared down at him, silencing the boy immediately. Gently, he grabbed Victoria's arm and led her back to the castle, most of it was in silence, but Victoria snatched her arm back, away from his grasp and glared over to him, "Don't stare at me like that, you're lucky I was around."

"I can take care of myself, your majesty." She muttered and he eyed her suspiciously.

"Clearly." Scar stated and continued walking at a rather fast pace, "So you and mister Archer are together now, hm?"

"No." She stated firmly, "He's being a jackass, I don't want anything to do with him."

"Because he kissed you?" Scar asked softly and she shook her head, "Then what is it young Victoria? You have me and probably that boy utterly confused."

The brunette beauty took in a deep breath and exhaled quickly before telling the king what really happened, "He told me to forget about Drake... I can't... That's what really set me off, and then when he kissed me, that just topped it all off... It gave me an excuse to be pissed off at him."

"Ah." Scar answered and by talking about Drake's name, made his body tense up, "Maybe it is time to get over him, if you don't get over him, how could you ever love someone else?"

Victoria stared at Scar with skepticism and he shrugged his shoulders lightly, "I don't want to love anyone right now." She lied, the only one she wanted to love was Drake... but he passed on years ago, "I'm fifteen for crying out loud. I don't need this right now."

They grew closer and closer to the castle and Scar picked her chin up with his fingers, "Yes, but it is only a matter of time before you do let love _in_." He stated with a sly smirk and then dropped her chin, storming into the castle, allowing Victoria to stare after him with wide, disgusted eyes. _Was he... coming onto me?_ She thought and shook her head, feeling somewhat ridiculous.

* * *

"Hey... Ayden, isn't that your mom?" Danny asked just as Ayden was about to shoot in their game of pool. His deep blue eyes lifted towards the door, seeing a blond woman with straight hair, blue eyes and lighter skin.

"Wonderful." The blond boy stated and rolled his eyes, but he watched as two more women came in behind her. One had shoulder length, dark brown straight hair, amber eyes and light olive skin, she was the former queen... Elizabeth Ashburn. The other had brownish blonde hair, styled into a bob, green eyes, ivory skin and freckles. Isabelle Morlet. "Hey, Nick... Looks like your mom's here too."

"Oh what the hell." Nick groaned and looked over to see his mother. "Why are they here?"

"Who knows..." Ayden muttered and bent down to shoot, "Just don't make eye contact."

"Not a problem." The younger boy grinned and leaned on the pool table, watching as the ball made contact with the one it was supposed to, bouncing it into a little hole, "SCORE."

Shayna walked back to them with more drinks and Alison frowned, her dark eyes pouring into her friends, "They're beating us by a lot, Shayna..."

"Oh well." The pale blond replied with a shrug of her shoulders, "If they face me in a game of mini golf, their sure to lose."

The gang continued on with their game, shooting the ball any which way just to score, when Nick's eyes caught his mother taking shots, along with the other women, "Oh... God dammit, you know this isn't gonna end up well." Ayden and the rest of the group glanced up only to look at the three adults, laughing, having a good time, and drinking.

"Well, at least they wont bother us tomorrow." Ayden replied with a smirk, "They'll be too hung over to get out of bed by the rate their going."

Everyone exchanged grins, but Nick's attention was also taken by someone who walked in the door, he had dark brown hair, darker skin, brown eyes and he looked quite upset... the only thing that ticked Nick off was that his sister wasn't behind him. "What the hell is he doing here?"

Ayden's eyes glanced up, he seemed to be the only one who heard Nick, and his deep blue eyes met with Cole's as he made his way over to them alone. "Hey... guys." His voice was soft and Nick glared over to him, "Nick... I swear I didn't do anything to her to piss her off until the end!"

"Yeah, but you still did it." The younger boy muttered and Ayden gave him a look, silently telling him to calm down. Nick took in a deep breath and let it out swiftly, "Alright, what happened?"

"W-We were playing laser tag, and... and she said she _saw _Drake, possibly his ghost or something... I told her she needed to forget about him but... but she got angry and I let her walk away from me and- and then I admitting something incredibly STUPID to her, and it all pissed her off even more... Nick you seriously need to talk to her... Or even Ayden!" The blond boy exchanged looks with Nick and Victoria's little brother shook his head.

"No way. If you pissed her off that's not my problem." He stated firmly, "Besides, how could you let her walk home by herself in the dark!"

Cole stayed quiet for a moment and Nick raised his eyebrows, "She wasn't by herself... She walked with Scar."

"UGH!" Nick exclaimed, causing everyone to look over to him, "You let her walk with pedosmile?"

"Well there wasn't anything I could do, was there?" Cole snapped back and Nick glared at him, "The guy already hates me! I'm not being put to death!"

"Maybe you should you piece of-" Nick began, but Ayden covered his mouth.

"Cole, we get it. It's not your fault." The blond boy began, "But maybe Nick and I should get back to the castle and make sure she's alright." Nick rolled his eyes and Cole nodded his dark head watching as the two boy's dropped their pool sticks, and walked towards the door, unable to say goodbye to their friends; they were on a mission, hopefully, Victoria remained unharmed.

* * *

While standing in the middle of the woods, far from the boarding house, Drake's amber eyes glanced over to Aurora, who seemed to be concentrating with everything around her. "I can't believe you threatened William." She finally spoke after a long period of silence, "He doesn't do threats."

"Well that's something we have in common." Drake answered wryly while putting his hands into his leather jacket pockets, "I don't do threats either."

"You're stupid if you think you can threaten an elder vampire." Aurora stated firmly, glaring at the young one, "He wont take that-"

"Oh, I think he will." Drake cut her off and shut his mouth, listening to the environment around him. They've been in the same spot for hours, only waiting for William to show his all too familiar face. Aurora shifted her wight, feeling nervous, knowing William, he wasn't going to come alone, and how could she put her trust into a vampire so young? He hadn't ever dealt with evil, old and strong vampires before.

"Even if he doesn't show up now..." Aurora began and Drake glanced over to her, "Vampires never forget." This wasn't news to Drake, he hadn't forgotten a single detail since he'd turned into this monstrosity. "He wont ever back down, you and I both know this..."

"Yes, Aurora." Drake growled, growing somewhat impatient, "I get it." Another moment of silence engulfed around them, and paranoia ate away at their brains, both vampires even faced opposite ways, just in case they were to come in different directions. Out of the clear blue, a twig snapped and footsteps ruffled through the leaves. Obviously they weren't vampires, the immortal were light on their feet, or so Drake thought.

Two men walked through the forest, carrying shot guns, backpacks, and supplies to make a tent, "Oh... Didn't know this place was taken." One of the men said, as his beady black eyes looked Aurora up and down, "Mind if we join you pretty lady?"

"Yes, I do mind." Aurora spoke in a rather mean voice and Drake smiled slightly, turning away from everyone, trying to listen in for anyone else, "I suggest you leave and go stay in a hotel."

"And why is that?" One of the men asked, growing closer and closer to Aurora. This didn't phase Drake, he knew that she would be able to take care of herself, but once the beauty opened her mouth to speak again, the man drove a stake through her, missing her heart by inches. A gasp came from her beautiful lips and the older vampire hit the ground quickly. Drake's eyes widened and he turned to watch the humans running away.

"Aurora!" Drake exclaimed, rushing over to her and pulling the stake out, "H-How did they-" They shrugged her shoulders, finding herself unable to move. The pain was unbearable, and Drake grew furious... His eyes changing color to a deep red, his fangs extending from his pearly white teeth, and he shot after them. Aurora felt the wound closing up and she sighed heavily, getting up and walking after Drake in an inhumanly fast pace.

"Drake!" She called out watching as he already had the two men in his gasp. "D-Don't hurt them! L-Let them go! They've been compelled!"

_Compelled?_ Drake thought, though, he wasn't exactly in a right state of mind. While dropping the humans Drake stood over them grinning. He wanted to end their lives once and for all, they'll pay for what they did to Aurora. The one man took his shot gun, pointing it at Drake, whose eyebrows went up. He knew bullets couldn't harm him, and they're idiots for trying. The man pulled the trigger and a bullet went straight into his body, though, it effected him more than he thought it would.

The young vampire stumbled back and Aurora's eyes widened as she made her way over to him. The human's ran off again and Drake pulled the bullet from the wound, seeing that the bullet was made of wood. "Wooden bullet's..." He whispered and the female frowned, shaking her head. "They know too much, Rora..."

"I-I know, Drake." She began, hearing the nickname that William had always said to her, "But there isn't anything we can do, William compelled them... I mean, they'll keep the secret."

"Oh, there is something we can do." Drake spoke lightly, "And two can keep a secret..." The young vampire smirked as he headed towards them again, Aurora sighed heavily.

"If the other one is dead..." She finished his statement and chased after, feeling her heals sink into the ground underneath her, watching as Drake appeared in front of the human, grabbing one of them with his hands, but she turned her face away, unable to watch... the only thing she heard was a crack.

The other man who was with his friend started screaming and crying hysterically, and once Aurora picked her gaze up from the ground, she saw Drake staring into his eyes, keeping contact and the man remained silent and unblinking, "Forget what you saw here and don't tell William a thing." The young vampire began, "Or I will find you and kill you... Do we understand each other?"

He nodded his bald head slowly, his eyes still remained unblinking, "I understand." He replied in a monotone voice, and this caught Aurora off guard. Her jaw dropped and Drake nodded his head, unable to believe that he'd actually listen, but the man began walking off sluggishly, as if nothing had happened. Drake's eyebrows scrunched together as he watched him leave and Aurora appeared next to the young vampire, her eyes wide with excitement.

"You, my friend, have just experienced your first power!" She giggled and he raised his eyebrows, "You compelled him! Just like what William did! You and William have that same power... I wonder if you'll get his clairvoyance too."

"I hope not. "Drake admitted lightly with a simple shake of his head, "I don't want to know what the future holds for me."

The female placed her snow white hand on his face, and he looked into her eyes, wishing to kiss her, but she only meant all of this in a friendly way, "You aren't exactly like him, Drake." Her voice was velvety, soft, and comforting, "You're good. He isn't... Although, you may have tendencies like him, and look exactly like him... you're basic personalities are polar opposites."

Drake's heart gave a tight squeeze and he frowned deeply, "You don't... like me do you?" She tilted her head to the side, feeling a little confused, "I mean... more than just friends."

"Oh... Drake." She frowned this time and she placed her hand by her sides, fearing that when she touched him it gave him such feelings, "I think of you as a wonderful friend, but I- I can't love you in that way. You look too much like him..."

"Since when do looks matter?" Drake asked in an exasperated tone of voice, "You already said my personality isn't like him!"

"That doesn't matter Drake!" Aurora exclaimed as she crossed her arms over her chest, "The resemblance freaks me out, and even though you don't act like him, you still look exactly like him! It's... it's creepy."

The young vampire rolled his eyes, "So now I'm creepy?"

"No!" She cried out, shaking her head, "The resemblance is, not you!"

"Whatever..." He sighed and shoved his hands back into his leather jacket, "You should really stop putting an act on then." She tilted her head and he sighed, "I see the way you look at me, yet you're convinced that you don't want me like that... You're lying to yourself." Her mouth dropped and he nodded his head, "Whenever we go to places and women come over to me, you get mad and jealous... I see it!" She shut her mouth, mainly because she knew he was right, "I'm sick of the lies, Aurora... Every time I think I get over you, you draw me back in... and I don't get it... I don't want to like you, but it's happening... and there's absolutely nothing I can possibly-" With that, their lips met, and she caught him off guard. There wasn't any fireworks, rockets, or red glare, but there was a tiny spark. Half of Drake wondered if that spark was supposed to be so small, but the other half of him figured that it would grow with time, and time was all they had.

* * *

**AN:** Yeah, so... Drake and Aurora? **(Baaaaaaaaaad move)** ): But don't worry, this just means things will get even more interesting. ;) Don't hate me. XD

Scar showing up by Victoria? Can you say CREEPY? O: It's so nasty and poor Victoria doesn't know WHAT to think. Favorite line: _**Nick calling Scar "Pedosmile" XDDDDD**_

The adults are goin' drinking, having a good time. Psh, I think they need it, but I enjoyed Aydens and Nicks reactions XD

I thought Cole's and Victoria's date thing was cute, until the end. ): Poor girl, she saw Drake's 'ghost' but really, I think it's her conscience telling her to stop, and to follow Drakey. XD but who knows... I guess we'll find out, right?

**BTW:** Compelling someone means having the ability to control minds, disturb people's dreams, put their prey into a sort of trance and alter/erase their memories.

**EX: **Drake tells a human who he attacks "_An animal attacked you"_ and she says _"An animal attacked me." _So she actually believes that an animal attacked her because Drake told her so.

**Until next time :D**

-Shadow


	17. And I've lost who I am

**And I've lost who I am**

Victoria sat in the grass, finding herself unable to think. Why was Scar acting like this towards her? Did he have some sort of plan? The beauty pushed that thought away from her mind and her greenish blue eyes fixated on the night sky above her. Everything about this night was perfect, even if Cole had ruined it with his constant talking. Half of her thought he was right though, she needs to get over the fact that he's dead and that he is never coming back.

"VEE!" A familiar voice exclaimed, and the brunette turned her head only to find a blond boy and a shorter boy with dark brown hair and ice blue eyes running towards they made it over to her, Nick had collapsed into the grass next to his sister, and Ayden followed suitably, "Y-You're ok!" The blond panted with a broad smile.

"Yes." Victoria answered dryly and shrugged her shoulders, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"W-Well, Cole told us about your date." Nick grinned and continued to pant heavily, "But he also told us about pedosmile coming to retrieve you."

"We're just glad you didn't go in the castle." Ayden smiled lightly and hugged his friend, "You might have been... well... you know."

"OH JUST SAY IT." Nick groaned, "You could have gotten raped!"

"NICK." Victoria laughed and covered his mouth with a cream colored hand, "Shhh! You don't know if he's listening or not!" With that, all three of them glanced around, but took notice that the surrounding area was empty and that they were safe. "Ok, now we can talk."

The three laughed lightly and Nick laid back in the grass, looking up at the stars, as Ayden yawned and sighed heavily. "You know what's funny?" He asked and Victoria nodded towards him, silently telling him to continue on talking, "Shayna was talking to us today... She brought up Scar, James and Drake... how weird it was that they died on the same night, practically together."

"We went over this, Ayden." Victoria frowned, "Drake's mind wasn't right... He probably went insane and James took notice. The werewolf was out, it was all just a terrible moment, but it was supposed to happen, otherwise, it wouldn't have." Both boy's knew Victoria had a point, but they also kept to their theories.

"But, what if Drake was completely fine?" Ayden asked and Nick nodded his head, leaving Victoria utterly confused, "What if Scar had tricked him or something... what if all of that was Scar's plan so he can take the throne? I mean c'mon... We all know how much he _loved _his brother and nephew."

"I know that Scar was never Drake's nor James' biggest fan, but I don't think he'd stoop so low as to kill his own brother and nephew!" The beautiful brunette sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, "I mean honestly... how far would someone go to get what they want? I believe that even if he thought twice about killing James, he stopped himself. I mean... he had a conscience."

"After you've murdered... the soul rips itself." Ayden confirmed with a frown, "He doesn't have to think twice about it anymore... he's murdered half the prisoners saying that they killed his brother and Drake. Sounds to me like he's trying to cover up his own mess."

"Well seriously." Nick stated as he sat up quickly, "He's the most powerful in the kingdom for crying out loud, he could just admit it and there's nothin' anyone can do! He's an Ashburn, it's not like any of us can step up and be king."

"Yes, but if the kingdom knows what he did... they can revolt." Ayden replied in an as a matter of factly voice, "Then the kingdom wouldn't have a king, or someone will take his place and change the name and everything."

This gave Victoria an idea and she grinned victoriously, feeling a sense of triumph, "Don't worry guys... one day, I'm going to solve the Scar problem. He's a terrible king... everything is going down hill, I can't help but feel hit on whenever he speaks with me." The two boy's stared at her through curious eyes, "Once I'm old enough, and I can make my own choices, I'm going to be brave enough to leave Ashburn and find help out there... Let's face it, no one here will stand up to him."

"But they need to be magical which can be hard to find, and Nick and I will come with you!" Ayden grinned, and Victoria smirked over to them, "But... knowing you... you'd find a way to seek out a magical being."

"Someone who's brave enough to take over and if I don't find anyone... I'll return and try and take over myself." She stated with a promising nod, "I can't sit back and watch as the kingdom slowly gets destroyed, I think that this is my purpose in life... and I think that Drake is one hundred percent behind me."

* * *

As the two vampires continued to share a moment in the woods, Drake opened his amber eyes for a instant as Aurora's lips trailed towards his neck, of course something caught his attention and he froze immediately. _What the hell?_ He thought, and pushed the female vampire aside gently, walking over to the pond. "Hey! What are you doing?" Aurora's voice interrupted his train of thought, but this didn't stop him from moving forward, "Drake!"

"Aurora… that… that girl." Drake answered, pointing to a rock where he saw a little girl in a black dress, thick, shoulder length brown hair, and fair skin staring into the pond. She seemed to be crying. "Hey…" The young vampire said softly, moving towards her, "Are you ok?" With this, the little girl turned her head and he saw those familiar, all knowing, brilliant, greenish blue eyes. This took him by surprise and the young vampire's amber eyes widened as he put a name to the face… Victoria Morlet, his best friend. _What is she doing here?_ He thought as excitement took over his body... not only did he feel like he was ten years old again, but he felt HUMAN. One hundred percent human... and this made him skeptical, _Why on earth does she still look like she's ten?_

"Drake, there's no one there." Aurora stated firmly as she made her way over to his side cautiously, "It's just a rock."

"No! The girl sitting-" He began with a little point, but soon realized that this was all happening in his mind. _Why was he thinking of this?_ He hadn't thought about home in years… and whenever he did, it only made him angry and upset. The young vampire's face fell from complete excitement to utter disappointment. "Never mind… I-It's just my imagination."

Confusion took over Aurora's features and she stood in front of him, hoping to capture his focus and lure his vision away from the little girl that he supposedly saw. "Why are you picturing a little girl?" She asked with her arms crossed and thought about it for a moment. "Do you have a sister that you miss?" The young vampire shook his head and she sighed heavily, "Drake, I think you need to start telling me about your past. I know you're a prince, you're descended from William, but I don't know anything about _you_." The word **prince **took his attention away from little Victoria and he stared down at Aurora, "I know you want to keep everything about you a secret, I didn't tell anyone… not even Riley and Evan that you're royalty, but please… I'd like to know more about you."

"Why?" Drake asked in a bitter tone of voice and this made her eyebrows scrunch together, "The past only hurts when I look back at it. I don't want to remember my past… it's something I'd rather just forget about."

"And you think that forgetting will solve answers?" Aurora asked with a frown, it was only obvious that she's been down that road before; but being in love with William and running away from him is nothing compared to what Drake had done, "We're friends, remember?" The word '**friends**' caught his attention as well and he silently growled, his amber eyes pouring into her own, "… I told you about me, so I think I deserve-"

"You don't deserve anything." Drake growled and the woman's eyebrows rose, "Your past had everything to do with _me_! I'm connected to your past… YOU aren't connected to mine, so but out!"

The female vampire's mouth dropped and she looked enraged just before placing her hands on her hips, giving him a rather sassy attitude, "Is this how you treat a girl after you kiss them?" Aurora asked sarcastically.

"No, it's not." He stated firmly, "And if I remember correctly, YOU kissed ME." She should have known better than to bring up his past... if he hadn't talked to her about it this entire time they've been friends, then why on earth would it be ok for her to bring it up now?

There was an awkward silence between the two and Aurora finally decided to speak, "Fine." She replied in an acidic tone of voice, "And you know what, Drake?" Her lips curved into a smirk, which made Drake somewhat confused. He never had gotten on Aurora's bad side before and half of him wondered if that was such a good thing to do. She is stronger... and more powerful. She can take away his life, probably by a snap of her fingers, "I don't even know why I kissed you." He raised his eyebrows, growing a little angry. "I don't even _love_ you... and I don't know why I did it."

Instantly after the bitch spoke, Drake's emotions turned off like a flip of a switch, which isn't a good thing... at all. The young vampire smirked sinisterly and cocked his head to the side giving her reason to double take. His guess to why she had done that, was that he not only resembled William now, but his mannerisms were down path as well, "I'll tell you why." Drake's voice was a mere whisper as he moved close to her, their faces only inches away from one another. The dark haired woman's eyes widened, but Drake continued on smirking, "Because you… are a selfish **_BITCH _**that only wants William Ashburn, and you will take anything that moves until you get exactly what you want."

With this, Aurora looked appalled, but when he moved his face further away from her's, he took notice that Victoria's tiny figure was gone. Having that fact embedded into his brain, he frowned slightly, feeling a twinge of sadness. "And now the real you comes out to play." The dark haired vampire stated bitterly, although seductively at the same time, her dark eyes observed his movements and mannerisms with desire, "You and William have a lot more in common than just your looks... I guess I was wrong." The young vampire glared at her and she grinned lightly as her dark eyes looked him up and down, "One more thing... I'm not the desperate one here."

"Oh, really?" Drake asked wryly, watching her intently as she nodded her dark head, "You know, Aurora, it's funny... When I first met you, you were so sweet and kind... when you trained me through all the years, it's been the same way. Ever since I turned this age, you've changed. Probably because I look more like your precious William now, you've put on an act this entire time... Now who's really come out to play?" Aurora glared at Drake through her dark eyes, and they grew darker as the anger bubbled inside her, "Something wicked this way comes, huh Rora?" Whistling approached Drake's ears and both their heads turned around to see a woman, with short black hair, tan skin, and brown eyes; she was walking her dog while the iPod stayed in her ears. _Stupid, stupid girl..._ He thought and smirked over to Aurora, who continued to shake her head, "You hate when human's get hurt... don't you?"

"Drake..." She warned, a slight growl approaching her lips, "Don't go there."

"You hate when _they _hurt... BUT you don't give a damn about anyone else... the one's who's feelings _you've_ played with don't mean a thing to you." The half vampire tilted his head to the side, "You're going to find out exactly how I feel. The hurt that you usually cause me every time you push me away... or tell me I'm not good enough for you." He couldn't help himself... his old habits were returning, but this time, he didn't WANT to stop them. As long as it hurt her, he was perfectly content, "But THIS side of me... THIS is who I am, and you tried to change me." He inched towards the woman who continued walking her dog growing completely oblivious to their conversation as she hummed along with the tune and took her phone out of her pocket, sending a text message with a broad grin on her face. The cheeriness was making the young vampire sick to his stomach when he glanced back over to the wicked bitch, "This... is what I should have been the entire time." Aurora shook her head over and over, knowing that if she tried to physically stop him, he'd act out. "This is how I began in my new life, and this is exactly... how I will remain."

"DRAKE, STOP IT!" She exclaimed, but watched as his eyes turned red, the fangs extended from his mouth, and he jumped on the girl, sinking his teeth into her tan neck. Aurora's eyes widened and she covered her mouth and nose with a pale hand, turning away from the sweet smell of murder. Not even a scream was heard from the girl before he attacked and the female had a strange urge to rip her apart as well, the smell seeped through the cracks of her fingers and it settled itself in her nose, allowing her mouth to water. A dangerous secret of Aurora's, she feels for humans mainly because she wishes she were human again, but she had lied to Drake when he was a child. She told him the scent of spilled blood didn't matter anymore, that she barely even notices that it's there... That was her first lie to him, and the rest kept piling on.

Once she found the courage to look back at Drake, the girl, and her maniac dog that was now trying to bite the young vampire. He swiftly kicked it over to Aurora while dropping the limp body onto the ground, "Don't worry." He stated while licking his lips, "I saved some for you, I know how much you enjoy animal blood."

Her dark eyes cascaded towards the whimpering dog, and with a roll of her eyes, the dark haired woman left it and charged off towards the boarding house. No matter how cruel she could get, Drake is one step a head of her, just like William had always been... They're identical now and she had tried so hard to prevent that.

Drake rolled his eyes, watching as the dog continued to whimper, an unchanging feeling inside him stirred and he cocked his head to the side before walking over to it, kneeling over it's furry little body. The vampire's fangs had never retracted, but once he was going to strike, he noticed a change in it's heart. The dog was going to be alright, and he decided that it would get up and move eventually, that he didn't need to prove a point anymore... but the freedom he had when he attacked that girl, he didn't feel as if he had to fight with himself anymore. Of course, he knew how to control it, but that just meant he couldn't go on starving for days the way Aurora had him do at times just to test himself. While glancing down at the dead girl, he groaned before walking over to her, dragging her by an ankle and throwing her into the cold pond.

His amber eyes couldn't seem to stay away from that rock. Why did he see her? How did that happen? Why did she disappear? Glancing around the darkened forest, a frown remained on his lips. Half of him wondered what she looked like now... but one thing that will remain unchanging, the color of her beautiful eyes. That's something he could never forget; and that smile... She had the most beautiful smile anyone ever had, even at a young age, it caught his attention, and that was difficult to do. He always said that Victoria Morlet was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, it wasn't because they were best friends, it was because she was... and he was almost positive she still is. Not even Aurora could replace such beauty, vampire or not.

"Why do I keep doing this?" Drake asked himself, glancing down at his reflection only to see utter disappointment, "All I want to do is forget about the past... Forget about HER, but everything continues to haunt me, my past... continues to haunt me." As he continued to look down at his reflection, it remained blurry._ Who am I? _He thought and frowned deeply_. _Fair is foul and foul is fair. The most beautiful things in life, could end up being the most repulsive... Everyone must live with what they develop into… Everyone must recognize the changes that are spewing out of each individual. Not every person benefits from it, unless the alteration is superior. Though, the key to transform is to let go of the fear, and understand that life, itself, opens and closes doors each day. Existence can either be accepted or altered, if it is not accepted then it must be changed, if it cannot be changed… then it must be accepted. While shutting his eyes tightly, he allowed one tear, and one tear only to slip from his amber eyes. _This it the last night I hurt_. He made a promise to himself, _This is the last night seeing the old me... Out with the old, in with the new._

_

* * *

_Scar watched with his light green eyes as the three shapeshifters ran into the room where the throne remained, completely untouched by everyone aside from himself. "Well?" He asked impatiently and the shapeshifters exchanged glances, wanting to share some juicy information with him. "Come on now, spit it out. I know that at least two of you can form correct sentences."

"That little Morlet chick." Jason began crossing his arms over his chest, "She isn't as innocent as everyone seems to think she is."

"Yes, and that Ayden fellow isn't either. In fact, his brilliant mind put the pieces together." Scar's eyes widened with somewhat fear, but Ashton continued on, "He told Victoria that the death was planned, although, I don't think he made that idea up himself."

"And Victoria seems to think that Drake wasn't in a right state of mind before he died, what do you suppose that means?" Jason asked with his bushy eyebrows raised. Scar got to his feet and began pacing the marble ground, "They're also trying to put an end to you being king."

This made the lanky man stop dead in his tracks, anger bubbled inside of him, "WHAT?" He exclaimed loudly and the three shapeshifters nodded their heads, "DID THEY SAY HOW?"

"Yes, but I couldn't hear..." Ashton grumbled as he glared over to his youngest brother, "This one chews like a fucking horse right in my ear, and it wasn't like I was close enough to hear OVER it."

Scar grimanced over to Ed who frowned and stepped back quickly. "Fine then... I guess we'll just have to be careful, wont we?" The three nodded their heads and Scar smirked wickedly, "And the boy's must be dealt with even if they will be put to death." Jason and Ashton exchanged glances, but it was only a matter of time before one of them asked the dreaded question.

"And the girl?" Jason asked while Scar's smirk only grew into a repulsive smile.

"Do not touch HER." He stated loudly while they all exchanged looks of confusion, "Because she is going to grow into a fine little lady isn't she?"

* * *

**AN: **Scar = Nasty. I hate him lmaooo, I hate writing for him. Everything about him pisses me off, but I have to do it -_-

Victoria, Ayden and Nick. I love them :) Victoria's already planning that she's going to get help, that she's going to be the savior of the kingdom, hmmm... I wonder who she'll find ;) But will Ayden and Nick survive Scar's deathwishes? ): Will they make it on time to go with her?

Drake and Aurora... Adios mio. She got a little fiesty/bitchy and he got a little snarky/amoral. She is not his favorite person right now and he isn't hers. All it took was for him to see Victoria and bam... he stopped kissing her. Trust me, the moment he sees Victoria, it's gonna be AURORA WHO? Victoria is not his rebound girl, he was in love with the girl since they were like eight LMAO. but there's always a twist. Remember, my stories aren't always happy go lucky ;)

So Drake is starting to go back to his old... uncontrollable state. I'm sure he'll be more under control now, but his bad boy personality is starting to shine through again and his way of dealing with things** (aka no emotion as in... turning it off)** is never a good thing for a vampire. Remember what Aurora told him in previous chapters:

**"and because when vampires get upset, they tend to want to shut off emotion completely. It's like a switch... except something may substitute in... like anger, violence, or hatred... you'll feel out of control again, but when the deed is done, there is no going back and you snap out of it immediately only to realize what you've done." Her eyes seemed lost as they fixated on the ground, "You may be able to turn off emotion, but that doesn't mean your conscience isn't filled. You'll even drown in your own guilt..." **_- unless he doesn't want to feel that either. (DUNDUNDUUUUUUUN)_

**FOR EVERYONES INFORMATION:**_ When Drake compels people, he can only compel a human. It doesn't work on vampires and if that human turns into a vampire. They can remember everything you compelled them with. _

_**EX:** _Drake compels Riley to forget that he's a vampire so that he can stay in the house. Riley is compelled and forgets that he's a vampire, so he lets him stay in the house. Soon, Aurora accidentally bites Riley, turning him into a vampire, and he remembers everything that Drake told him to forget.

Stupid example. _(Shakes head) BUT SEE HOW THAT WORKS? :) _**Enjoy ;)**_  
_

_-Shadowland  
_


	18. My love is vengeance, thats never free

**My love is vengeance (That's never free)**

Victoria walked down the spiral staircase, only to find people smiling broadly and watching her intently. Today was the beauty's eighteenth birthday, and Ayden and her friends had promised to take her out, mainly because she needed to, not because she wanted to. Her outfit consisted of black skinny jeans, high black pumps, a black lacy, low cut, tank top, and a tight fitting leather jacket to go over it. Even though it was June, the nights sometimes got cooler. Ayden's mouth dropped and Nick elbowed him in the ribs**.**

Her long, perfectly curled, hair reached to the middle of her back, and swayed with each movement she made. "Happy Birthday, my darling daughter." Isabelle grinned while wrapping her arms around her, "I'm so very proud of the woman you've become."

"Thank you." Victoria smiled and hugged her mom back, though her eyes landed on Elizabeth Ashburn, who wore a warm smile. The beauty broke free from her mother's grasp and she made it over to the former queen, who hugged her soothingly.

"Happy Birthday, Victoria." Elizabeth stated softly, but she could hear the smile in her voice, "James and Drake say happy birthday too." This made Victoria's heart give a tight squeeze and through the silence, the former queen heard her thank you loud and clear. "Have fun tonight and don't get into too much trouble."

The brunette wiped a tear from her made up eyes and she smiled warmly at Elizabeth, "I wont, Elizabeth, I promise."

"Good girl... and YOU two." The former queen pointed towards Ayden and Nick, "Take real good care of her, you got it?"

"She'll have the time of her life tonight." Ayden promised with a nod of his head and glanced over to Nick, who wore a tiny smirk on his lips. "Right, kid?"

"OH, of course." Nick chuckled and nodded his head, "But if any guys come at you, Vee, you know it's my duty as your brother to give 'em a good beating."

Isabelle's eyes widened, Elizabeth laughed, and Opal smiled while shaking her head, "You better realize how old you are, Nicholas Morlet!" Isabelle lectured, wagging her finger at the youngest boy, "You are only sixteen, there are boys who are older than you and much bigger!"

Nick rolled his light blue eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, "So? If someones coming onto my sister, I'll put him in his place... it wont be that difficult." The three knew exactly who he was talking about. Cole Archer. Since he admitted his feelings towards Victoria, things were awkward between them, but it still didn't stop him from trying to be with her. "Well." Nick's voice broke the silence, "We better get going, the birthday girl shouldn't be late to this party.

The adults all waved the three off, and Ayden, Nick and Victoria all stepped out of the castle, smiling, as Ayden walked over to his car and unlocking it. He drove a silver dodge charger that was imported from the 'normal' world, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Victoria hadn't gotten her car yet, but with all honesty, she didn't care what she drove, as long as it got her to places, she would be perfectly happy.

**

* * *

**

A twenty year old Drake Ashburn grinned as the music blared in the middle of the woods, watching as college students swigged a drink of their alcohol and danced until they couldn't stand straight anymore. Most of the people had drinking _contests_, played drinking _games_, and most ended up passing out on the forest floor, which to Drake was quite stupid. The immortal can drink excessively, get completely wasted, yet they are never harmed the way humans are, and their minds are still able to function much better.

Drake's amber eyes watched as one of the girls danced against him in a seductive way and he allowed a smirk to play across his lips as his pale hand raised, moving her long, yet thin, hair out of the way so he had full access to her creamy neck. The thirst was killing him, yet he remained under control until the perfect moment passed him by. "Do you wanna go get something to drink?" She asked with a slight giggle as she moved away from his gasp, her fingers twirling around her straight blond hair.

"I'm glad you offered." He grinned and once she giggled again and spun on her heal to find drinks, he grabbed her arm, pulling her back to him and holding her gaze, "Don't scream, don't try to run. If anyone asks about the bite... you like to get kinky."

"I like to get kinky." She whispered, her eyes remaining open, without blinking once through the compelling process. The infamous smirk pulled across his perfect lips again and he tilted her head to the side, biting into her neck as gently as possible. The sweet crimson slid down his throat and soon the young vampire's coloring returned to it's normal, light olive color. While retracting his fangs, the vampire leaned back, licking his lips swiftly and patting her on the shoulder, "Thanks, blondie. Always a pleasure." With that, he strode away from her and stumbled over to the bonfire, hearing different conversations as he passed.

"Oh my gosh..." A female whispered to her friend, he didn't even have to look over to her to see who she was talking about, "Did you see that guy? He is BEYOND hot!"

"I know..." Another female giggled and Drake grinned as his amber eyes stared into the fire. "You should dance with him." _Dance? _Drake thought with raised eyebrows and mentally shook his head, _Oh no, no, no... Drake Ashburn does not dance, unless it's to get something._ Deciding it was safe, he glanced around, spotting the two women who were talking about him. In both hands, they held a Corona, which were almost on empty, and they were both filled out quite nicely. _I suppose I can make an acceptation... _He thought as the brunette stumbled over to the young vampire, keeping her eyes on the fire.

"Oh, I just love this song." The busty brunette stated softly while holding the bottle close to her lips, taking a swig and throwing it to the ground. Drake smiled over to her, but before he could say anything, she fell into his arms laughing obnoxiously loud. "Oh... nice catch." She winked seductively and stared down at her, almost tempted to let her go. "Lets dance, handsome."

"Well, if you insist..." Drake's voice sounded just as charming as his looks, and the smile he let off was able to make any woman melt. The obnoxious brunette jumped from his arms and twirled around shakily. His amber eyes studied her movements and observed that she didn't want to let him go. Her dark olive hands locked onto Drake's and she pulled him to her, her chest practically grinding against his. Drake's eyebrows rose and she giggled while kissing him rather sloppily. Growing disgusted, he leaned back and placed his hands on both sides of the woman's face, holding her gaze. "Go away and find someone else to bother."

"You know what?" She asked in a bubbly tone of voice and he tilted his head to the side, lowering his arms. "I'm gonna go find someone else to bother!"

"Great!" Drake stated arrogantly as he heard a drunken giggle surpass her mouth. His eyes watched as the desperate brunette stumbled over to another man, who was holding a beer in his hands and talking to another friend of his. She threw herself on him and he was happy to accept, probably hoping to get lucky. _Good, take her. _Drake thought with a roll of his eyes but some sort of pounding noise grabbed his attention, and he turned around quickly only to find Aurora standing there with her arms crossed, her foot tapping impatiently against the ground.

"Yes?" He asked sarcastically, while leaving her in that spot and walking over to a cooler. His fingers were placed on his chin, as if thinking what kind of alcoholic beverage he could possibly take to wash his mouth out from that repulsive woman. His eyes landed on a Corona and mentally he shrugged while picking it up with his fingers. Aurora had followed him and much to his distaste, was standing quite close. His eyes picked up from the bottle and stared at her with utter dislike, "And you want what?"

"I want _you _to start acting like an adult." She growled, as her pale hand knocked the alcohol out of his own with lightening fast speed, "You've been like this for four years now." Her angered face softened slightly, her dark eyes pleading, "I've told you over and over again that I'm sorry. When will you forgive me?"

Drake stared at the broken bottle on the ground and sighed heavily, glaring over to her, "I told you. I forgive you, but that moment in the woods... it made me realize... I wasn't _me_." He gave a slight shrug of his shoulders and the female vampire raised her eyebrows, "Now. If you don't mind... I want to drink, party with the humans, and probably do something I'll regret in the morning."

"No." She stated firmly and almost immediately as she crossed her arms, "I won't let you do something you'll regret, you've done enough already, I'm surprised your not drowning in your own guilt." With that tilted her head to the side, deciding not to play _'the good guy'_ anymore, "Lets see... and how many people have you killed?"

"None. Only the one with that cute little dog that you wouldn't bite." He smirked over to a very disgusted Aurora, "You really should put more faith in me. Ever since I found the power of compulsion, I can feed off humans... not drain them nor kill them, and make them forget. It's perfect."

"You're disgusting." She confirmed with one nod of her head. He rolled his eyes and started walking towards a group of people to join the party again, but he knew she'd follow, "Look, even Riley and Evan are worried about you!" This made Drake stop and look at her with his eyebrows raised, "Yes... And they're supposed to live the_ 'carefree' _life. See what you did to them!"

"Ouch." Drake muttered with a fake frown, "Well maybe if they become _vampires_..." The smirk played across his lips again and Aurora's eyes widened, "Then they can live how _I _do. I mean... let's face it... I enjoy being the eternal stud." He gave her a wink and the vampire shook her dark head continuously, anger continued to bubble in her system, "No?" He asked sarcastically and Aurora glared at him through dark eyes, "Wow, you have no sense of humor do you, Rora?"

With a simple roll of her eyes, the dark haired vampire shook her head and sighed heavily out of pure annoyance, "Actually, I have no sense of _Drake _humor."

Drake's eyebrows scrunched together for a moment, as if he didn't understand what she just said, "Drake humor?" He repeated and watched as the female vampire gave up and began to walk away, it was only obvious that her anger had gotten the best of her in this current situation. "Hey, look. I get it..." The young vampire followed and she raised her eyebrows at him, stopping in her tracks. "You know..." Drake's face turned rather serious as his light olive hand grabbed a hold of Aurora's arm. "I've been doing some thinking, some... _soul _searching and... I want us to start over." The expression on her face only changed a little, turning slightly more astounded. "We need to put everything behind us. You're my friend, and if you wanna live a normal happy _human... _like... life, then I want that for you... maybe I can do it too, that way I can learn to be a non-living, _living _person..." He paused slightly and gave her a promising nod, "Maybe there's hope for both of us."

Aurora stared at him skeptically, he knew how much she wanted to be human again and live as they do, but instead of taking himself seriously, the young vampire busted out laughing, "See!" She exclaimed, gesturing towards him again, "This is what I mean about you being an ASSHOLE." He smirked and began walking away from her to join the rest of the party, "Oh... I pray for the girl you fall in love with, William the second." This made Drake stop in his tracks and he turned to look at her slowly.

"Love?" He asked, allowing a wry laugh to escape from his mouth, "Love is an emotion specific for those who _care_." The vampire shook his head, and Aurora watched as his straight hair, that was normally perfectly styled, was lying flat in front of his eyes. She guessed that was due to all the dancing and partying he had done tonight, "It's not made for me... Like you said, Rora, I was made for this life, and love isn't apart of it."

"Well if you just let yourself care and feel again, then maybe you will find someone someday, and I-I wont compare you to him anymore!" Half of Aurora wondered why William hadn't showed up yet, Drake had threatened him... it could be years until he wants a true meeting, it wasn't like William to not go down in a fight. "Everyone around you gets hurt... you may not be killing them, but you are still taking blood away from them unwillingly."

"Actually, the one I just took blood from, was perfectly willing to give it to me..." Aurora opened her mouth to argue, but he continued on, "And frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn about everyone else." Drake said charmingly, then he gave one of his ice-cold lighting smiles before turning his back completely and walking away.

* * *

In a matter of minutes, Victoria, Ayden and Nick showed up at the Arcane Grill, their usual hangout spot, except tonight, it was all Victoria's space. "Excited?" Ayden asked with a smile and Victoria grinned over to him, nodding slightly. Her heart was beating against her chest as she watching people from school walking in the door, to party all night for HER. "Or... you're nervous."

"I am." She admitted with a slight blush and turned to her brother and best friend, "But this night is going to be amazing... It'll be one that none of us ever forget, agreed?"

"Agreed." They both stated and took in a deep breath just before opening the car door, and getting out of it. Ayden turned the car off, by using magic, and he and Nick both piled out, staring up at the giant grill. "Ready?" Ayden asked Victoria as he and Nick stood on either side of her.

"You know it." The beautiful brunette stated, and Ayden waved his hand over the car, locking it so that no one was able to steal it. The funny thing about cars is, you make up your own spell to unlock it, it almost was like a password, but it was a brilliant way so no one is able to steal it away from you. The three walked in through the doors, only to hear music blaring inside of it. People were already dancing and Shayna and Alison ran up to Victoria first. Shayna's pale blond hair was straightened, as usual, but she wore a dark purple baby doll dress, with black converse and Alison's chestnut brown hair was curled in a mini up-do, with little pieces handing along her face and she wore a mini skirt with black tights, pumps, and a red top. They both looked gorgeous.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They both exclaimed as they wrapped their warms around her. "You're finally eighteen!" Shayna exclaimed as she chewed on her gum, "Now tell me... How do you feel?"

"Not any different." Victoria grinned and both girls laughed lightly, mainly because it's true. "Now... are we going to sit and talk about how I feel all night? or are we gonna PARTY!" The girls grinned and clapped their hands together, squealing and giggling. Victoria started walking ahead, but both of them remained right behind her as she made her way over to a group of boy's... which consisted of Ayden, Nick, Cole and Danny. "Cole." She grinned wickedly and tilted her head to the side, "Wanna dance?"

The group of boy's, aside from Ayden and Nick, stared at the beauty like she was a piece of meat, "S-Sure..." Cole was hesitant about this, but he couldn't seem to drop this opportunity, especially when Victoria was the one who offered. The brunette grabbed his hand, leading him out to the dance floor, where everyone seemed to be having a good time. A fast paced song played and the two danced together for the entire thing. Shayna grabbed Danny's arm and led him out to the dance floor, probably without even asking him. Alison, however, grabbed both Ayden and Nick and decided to dance with both of them. Victoria started laughing and Cole glanced over to their direction, smiling as well. Alison was a character, she wasn't afraid to do things, nor did she care what people thought of her.

* * *

Aurora sighed and watched as Riley and Evan drank their soda's and kicked an empty pizza box away from their feet. "So... Where is he again?" Riley asked while sipping his drink and taking a last bite of his cheese pizza.

"I told you." The vampire groaned and leaned her head in her hands. "He's out 'partying' with some college students. Riley, Evan... I'm completely serious about this. I'm very concerned about him. He's ruining himself!"

"Nah, he's just livin' the carefree life." Riley said happily while opening his mouth and burping rather loudly. Too loud for Aurora's taste and she made a face as he smacked his lips together and sighed gently, "I'm not too worried about it."

This made the female freeze for a moment, mainly because she lied to Drake, telling him that Riley and Evan were concerned, when in reality, she only wanted him to stop screwing up his life, "About that..." She began and both men glanced over to her, "I... kind of told him that you were both worried about him." Both of their mouths dropped and before they could say anything, she continued on, "I know, I shouldn't have lied! b-but... I mean look at him, guys! Drake is a good person deep down, but... he isn't acting like it right now. Out of everyone in his entire life, he likes you two the best! Can't you show that you're a little worried? I mean... he might attack you one day."

"Nah, I'm not too worried." Riley replied with a simple shrug of his shoulders, "Drake's a good kid, I just think a lot of bad things have happened to him. He'll grow out of it eventually, it's probably just a phase, just like what human's go through."

"Right!" Evan nodded, then turned his head to look at the television, waiting for the commercial to get off the screen and for the game to come back on.

"There's nothing human left in Drake." Aurora admitted sadly and both men heard how sad her voice sounded, and they glanced over to her, "No good, no kindness... no love." That was the word that made everyone, including the female vampire, cringe. She couldn't help but be at fault for his actions...

"I mean..." Evan began, breaking the silence that now formed over all of them, "He isn't killing anyone right? He's just taking their blood... At least that's what I thought you said."

"That is what I said." Aurora frowned, "But don't you see? He's going to start if he doesn't knock off this bitter attitude towards human life! Personally... I think he needs to find love." This made Riley and Evan glare at her, "W-What!"

"Yeah, because that worked SOOOOOOO well the first time." The fiery redhead replied sarcastically, "Look, all I'm sayin' is-" The door swung open and Aurora froze, hesitantly looking over to the door, not only was she frightened of William Ashburn showing up, but she was frightened to see what kind of mood Drake was in as well. The young vampire walked over to them at a human pace, though, his expression was blank, "Ah, hey buddy... Have a seat."

"No thank you." He stated firmly and glared over to Aurora, "I know when I'm not wanted."

"You're only not wanted here because you're acting like THIS!" The female growled and got to her feet, both eyes pouring into one another, "Drake I don't understand. I miss human life and I would trade anything... just to be human again, AND YOU SIT HERE MAKING ALL OF THIS LOOK GLORIFYING. IT'S LIKE YOU DON'T EVEN MISS IT AT ALL."

"Because I don't, Rora... Congratulations, you finally figured something out about me." He replied arrogantly and she crossed her arms over her chest, "It's because I'm NOT human... I'M A FUCKING VAMPIRE. You can't change who you are when you were meant to be this way! If you want to point fingers at anything, go look at a mirror and point at that. You're the reason I'm here in the first place." Everything he said, made her shut up and tears formed in her eyes. The young vampire turned on his heal, walking back towards the door.

"W-Where are you going?" Riley asked hesitantly and Drake turned to look at him through anger filled eyes. "I-I mean... You just got back."

"Like I said. I know where I'm not wanted." He growled and with inhumanly fast speed, he was out the door, slamming it shut behind him. He lifted his face to the sky, sighing heavily, before grabbing a flask out of his jacket and drinking whatever alcoholic substance was left in there from the party that was just busted by the cops.

Quickly, the young vampire was out of range from the house and he walked close to a pond, tilting his head to the side as he glanced at a blurred reflection. This has been happening a lot lately, but it had to be going on in own twisted mind. "Who are you?" He asked himself as he swigged another drink from the flask, "You're nothing... that's what you are. N.O.T.H.I.N.G." But you could be something... You could have been anything, yet you chose this. A voice appeared inside his head and he pushed it far away from his mind, wishing to never hear that voice again. In the end, his father was right... vampire's are evil, it's in their nature and there isn't anything they can do about it.

Half of him wondered if Aurora had a wicked side, aside from the moment they shared in the forest, she seems so sweet and polite with everything that moves. To Drake, it wasn't natural to be that nice and happy about human life. _Ha. Human life..._ He thought cynically and felt the hurt and anger bubbling up inside of him. That word made his heart squeeze and his insides hurt.

Why was this life so difficult? Why did this have to happen to him? Of course, humanity was something he needed now... he needed something in his life that could make him feel whole again, "I have a secret... a really BIG one." Drake muttered in an distant tone of voice to no one in particular, while kicking a rock into the grass, "I-I miss being human..." His hands and teeth clenched together and he could feel his heart pounding against his chest, "I MISS IT MORE... THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD!" A tear formed in his right eye and it quickly spilled onto his cheek, making him shake his head slowly, "B-But there's j-just... s-so much hurt... a man can t-take..." He flopped down on the ground, feeling his knees go weak... that wasn't normal for him and it hasn't been done in a while, "BUT I CAN'T BE... WHAT THEY WANT ME TO BE... I CAN'T BE GOOD... I'M NOT LIKE THEM!"

In the distance, as Drake panted from the anger, he heard a car stop, pulling over on the side of the road. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE." A male's voice approached his ears and Drake quickly wiped the tears away from his eyes, as he turned his head slowly only to find that the cops had searched around the area for any underage drinkers. The man was balding, though the face looked quite familiar to the young vampire.

_"And who are you?" The other cop asked as he walked over to Drake with suspicion, eying his bloody clothes._

_"None of your business." Drake answered dully and the cop was taken aback, watching as Drake began walking away, obviously not caring about anything._

_"HEY!" He yelled and shot after him, pulling on his arm roughly, "YOU CANNOT DISRESPECT AN OFFICER... WHY ARE YOU OUT HERE?"_

_Drake looked the peeved man up and down in a rather cocky way, and then rolled his eyes. "You should leave…" He stated firmly and the officer's eyebrows rose. "I'm serious. Leave. Now."_

_The other officer who had Riley's and Evan's arms in his hand glanced over to his partner and noticed the hard time the child was giving him. "Need help?" He teased with a slight grin and the officer glared at his partner, gripping the child's arm tightly and dragging him over to the other cop and the eighteen year olds._

_"Please, I'm not afraid of you kid." He muttered with a slight smirk and the child willingly went with him as Riley and Evan struggled against the other cops grip, trying to talk their way out of it._

_"You should be." Drake said innocently and shoved the cop away from him, kicking him into a tree._

_Ah,_ Drake thought and tilted his head to the side as he got to his feet and walked over to him with a slight smirk,_ It's HIM... _The cop studied his mannerisms and took notice of how he looked, "You..." He said softly with wide eyes, "I-I know you!"

"You do?" Drake asked with a simple cock of his head. Obviously, that cop never had forgotten how a little ten year old boy beat him senseless, "That's unfortunate... Hey... How's your buddy?" The young vampire's smile only grew and the cop remembered waking up from being knocked out, only to find his dead partner lying next to him.

"A-ARREST THIS MAN!" The cop exclaimed to the other one who remained sitting in the car. This officer was much younger and he looked as if he didn't want to be there in the first place. The younger man rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"You do it, you're out there anyway... I'll make the report." He called from the car and Drake looked back at the cop who was now shaking and pulling the handcuffs out slowly.

"I wouldn't." Drake warned and the cop froze, "Now... This is all a misunderstanding... Wouldn't you agree?" The cop's eyes remained unblinking and he nodded his head slowly, "Good, now why don't you just forget everything about me... Forget what I did to your friend." He nodded again and Drake smirked but his eyes caught hold of something... something in the distance. It was that little girl again... Little Victoria. His amber eyes widened, this time he wasn't going to let her out of his sight, but once the cop snapped out of the trance Drake put him in, he looked Drake up and down, smelling the alcohol that radiated off of him.

"ALRIGHT." He said boldly and Drake's eyes flashed back to him, "YOU'RE COMIN' WITH ME." I don't have time for this... Drake thought as his light olive hand grabbed a hold of the officer's throat and quickly slammed him into the windshield of the work car.

The police officer inside the car jumped and watched as his partner rolled off from the windshield and he took his gun out, jumping out of the car, instantly pointing it, but Drake was no where to be seen. He scanned the area quickly before running over to the man who seemed to be hurting deeply.

* * *

"This is the best party ever." Victoria smiled over to Ayden, who gave her a friendly hug. "I'm serious... you and my brother planned a perfect party."

"You're my best friend Vee." Ayden admitted with a little smile, "Why wouldn't I do this for you? Besides, you know we had help from Alison and Shayna... We couldn't do this all ourselves."

The beauty smiled and she felt something vibrate in her purse, all of her friends were at the party, so she figured it was probably her mother checking up on her. "Um... I'll be back, alright?" She stated and Ayden nodded his head, turning to talk with Alison who had just jumped on Nick's back. Victoria escaped out the door and felt a nice summer's breeze hit her face, when she rummaged through her purse, finding her cellphone. Quickly she pressed the little green button and answered, "Hello?" But to her surprise, there was no answer, "Hello?" She tried again, then pulled the phone away from her ear to check and see if she had any bars left. Full bars... With a simple frown, she hung the phone up and turned back around to go back inside, but she came face to face with Scar. "WHAT THE-"

"Victoria, I forgot to wish you a happy birthday." He smiled softly and she raised her eyebrows, "Hmm, eighteen years old, huh?"

"Was that you calling me, just now?" Victoria asked as she started to back up, "A-And you'd see me tomorrow, why on earth would you come all the way over there just to wish me a happy birthday?"

"You are somewhat special to me, dear... " He stated with a grin and stepped towards her. "I couldn't possibly wait for tomorrow." The brunette seemed utterly repulsed and she quickly started dialing Ayden's number, but Scar swiftly knocked the phone out of her hands, "What? Don't trust me?"

The brunette's blue-green eyes watched as the phone plummeted to the ground, cracking from the cement. "D-DON'T TOUCH ME." She snapped and behind her, the three shapeshifters that chased her and Drake when they were kids, made their way over to her, growling.

"Sorry, but that is not an option. Don't even bother screaming, or I'll be sure to kill every last one of your precious friends." Scar smirked and his hands went to grab her, but Victoria used all her might, kicking him between the legs with her black pumps. Scar growled and grabbed himself, practically stumbling to the floor. Something told her to wear these shoes today, but she didn't expect any of this to go down. The three shapeshifters crowded around the door and she quickly turned around, and began running back towards the castle, but something caught her eye... something she didn't quite expect.

A little boy with straight auburn hair was grinning, and he motioned for her to follow him. This has to be Drake's ghost... Victoria thought, and willingly, she bolted towards the boy's figure. He was much faster than she was, but this almost felt like old times again. Without even looking at the shapeshifters, she went into her trance, sending a burning sensation to their minds, but to her horror, Scar was up and moving again, and he was practically right behind her. "I'LL TEACH YOU TO DO THAT TO ME, YOU BITCH!"

Ok, maybe these shoes weren't a good idea... Victoria thought, but she couldn't stop and take them off, he'd catch up to her way too quickly. Keeping her mind focused, she continued to send the burning sensation to the shapeshifters minds, and her eyes focused on the little boy in front of her. Something protective formed over her, and she felt Drake's presence... at least she thought it was Drake. _I will make it out, and I will find help... I'll do this for you._ She thought, praying that he would hear her, _I still love you._

As the brunette made it over to the sealed gate, she glanced around, quickly but saw that Drake's_ 'ghost'_ ran right through the fence, motioning her to follow. With a nod, she began running towards the fence, but hands locked tightly around her. "Gotcha." He growled lowly and Victoria squirmed in his grasp, but he grabbed a pocket knife from his pocket and held it to her neck, "Don't... resist me." She stopped moving and froze, watching as Drake's figure disappeared from her sight. The brunette felt like crying, but something else had caught her attention, and that was Scar scream and his sudden release from his grasp. Victoria ran forwards and looked down at him, watching as he hopped around... and a wooden arrow struck his leg. Not bothering to question any of this, she turned back around and headed towards the sealed gate, and a hooded figure stood there, but soon, it disappeared into the darkness.

This confused her, but she needed to keep going, it was only a matter of time before Scar will pull it out and recover. Swiftly, the brunette placed her hands on the gate, still able to see Drake's bloodstains from when he grasped it, and she pulled herself up, and falling onto the ground of the normal... regular world.

* * *

**AN:** So... Who was the hooded figure? And if you think you know who it was... why did he do it? ;) ( You guys are smart, I'm sure you'll catch on)

This, for me, was one long chapter -_- but it needed to happen, and I apologize. Lmao.

Scar = **disgusting **and I hate him, but I enjoyed when Victoria kicked him in the balls... ( Looks like when Vee meets Drake she's gonna look all sexy and stuff ;)))

I love Drake's little party like attitude, it's so fun to write for him XD and I like when he told Aurora off and when he told that brunette who kissed him to go bother someone else.

And she was all YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M GONNA GO BOTHER SOMEONE ELSE! And he was all "GREAT!" Like it was the first time he heard it lmaoooo.

Anyway... tell me how you liked it. XDDD

Love, Shadow.


	19. Some things are best left unsaid

**Some things are best left unsaid**

Trying his best, Drake picked up the pace in running, but even with super natural strength, he could not catch up to the little girl. "VICTORIA!" He shouted and continued the chase. Half of him wondered why he was even seeing her, but the other half didn't want to know. With all of the eerie things he had found out about his life, this was something he'd rather have kept in the dark. As the young vampire came to a stop, his amber eyes continued to watch as the figure mirrored his movements; she had stopped as well. "Why do you keep doing this to me?" He whispered, but was very aware that she couldn't speak back, after all this was all happening in his head; but that didn't mean it wasn't real.

Through intense eyes, he watched as the figure continued to stare back at him, but as usual, she started to fade, and soon she vanished completely. All Drake COULD do was watch helplessly as his best friend disappeared before his eyes. "I messed up everything didn't I?" He asked himself as he hung his head, watching the ground and examining every crack. "We probably could have been..." Drake's voice trailed off and the vampire shook his head quickly, unable to speak. It was clear that he didn't want to speak of the things he could have been if he just behaved and listened to his parents. The list consisted of being human, a king, possibly married and in love. _Now_? He's undead, a bloodsucking monster, and the only pleasure he has in existence is making Aurora miserable. The woman had made it perfectly clear that he was made for this life, so if he didn't take the vampire blood, he probably just would have died, then the gates would be sealed forever.

The young vampire had no intentions of going back, so Drake had assumed there was a damper in William's master plan. He wondered how his evil doppelganger would get him to go, but maybe he knew something Drake didn't. While shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked around the area slowly, unsure of where he was going, he knew where the boarding house was, and all that mattered is knowing how to get back. The young vampire leaned his back against the only light post on the street and sighed heavily as his eyes just stared into darkness, but a fragrance filtered into his nose, making his throat burn with want and desire. Blood... and not just any kind of blood, spilled blood. Normally, he was able to control himself quite well and wait to compel his prey, but this time was different; he supposed it was because his emotions were all turned off again, and he found himself unfeeling and heartless.

Tilting his head to the side, the young vampire found the target. A girl dressed in all black was limping, not towards him, but past him, and by the look of her face she seemed hurt and lost. His eyes observed her for a moment as his body remained frozen against the pole. She had long, perfectly curled thick brunette hair, with little golden lights, making her entire face light up. She had fair skin, and her eyes... they looked familiar, but he couldn't go by that seeing anyone could have that eye color. Deciding to make his move, Drake stood away from the pole and followed behind her as she continued to limp. "Need help?" He asked with a slight smirk and he watched as she stopped dead and turned her head slowly, her turquoise eyes meeting his amber ones.

"I'm fine." She stated firmly, "But thank you anyway." Ouch, rejected... He thought and watched as she continued on limping towards somewhere safe. Drake rolled his eyes and walked over to her at an inhumanly fast pace, causing the beauty to stop in her tracks and eye him suspiciously, "What do you want?"

"I'm glad you asked." He flashed her a charming grin and this made her face soften slightly, she seemed to be getting lost in his smile; and as soon as he felt she was alright to give into him without compulsion, the fangs extended from his mouth, his eyes turned a deep read. This caused her to stumble backwards and he smirked, moving towards her menacingly. The brunette's heart pounded in her chest and this only made Drake want the blood even more, and right as he was about to strike, a burning sensation entered his mind. The vampire froze immediately and grabbed both sides of his head, feeling his fangs retract and his eyes go back to normal. A cry of pain escaped from his mouth and his knees must have went weak, because the young vampire hand ended up on the ground, "MAKE IT STOP!" He screamed, but the brunette continued staring at him with intense eyes, showing absolutely no mercy for him, after all, why should he be given it?

_Drake and Victoria ran deeper into the forest, the young prince glanced backwards, watching as the wolf opened his jaws, growing closer and closer to Victoria's leg. While taking a deep breath in hoping to find some courage, he pushed the brunette beauty in front of him and the shapeshifter grasped the prince's leg, pulling him back to where he lost balance. She screamed and his stomach hit the ground, scraping against the rough forest floor as it dragged him. The shapeshifter used its paw to flip him over, and he kept his claws close to Drake's throat._

_Surprisingly, his face looked very calm, but his body was terrified beyond belief. The claws dug into his neck, and the others forgot about Victoria and went straight for him, their jaws opening, only to clamp down and end it all. Drake closed his eyes and out of instinct, flinched back and blocked his face, but he didn't feel anything, only a burning sensation of pain in his leg and neck where the claws had been. The sound of whimpers filled his ears and Drake's eyebrows scrunched together before opening his eyes and glancing up at the wolves… all three of them were in pain, and the shapeshifters continuously shook their heads over and over. "What the heck…" He began and he glanced behind him only to catch Victoria staring at the wolves, mouthing something… She was in a trance._

No... No way, he thought as the pain continued to penetrate his body, making him feel weak, as if his life could just stop right then and there. "VICTORIA, STOP!" The pain came to a sudden close, and when he found the strength to open his eyes again, they fixated on an extremely frightened brunette. Her turquoise eyes were wide, yet suspicious and confused. Drake panted slightly, and shakily got to his feet, unable to pull his focus from her, "I-Is it really you?"

There was an awkward silence between the two for several minutes, and then she took in a deep breath, "Who ARE you?" This was a question he really didn't want to answer, but this was his BEST friend, she didn't need to confirm it, the expressions she made were very clear.

"It's me." He said soothingly and felt his heart beating against his chest. Why did he feel so nervous right now? "Drake Ashburn." From that name, her eyes widened even more and the young vampire didn't even know that was possible.

Victoria shook her head over and over as if she either couldn't believe it, or she wouldn't. "N-No. Drake Ashburn's DEAD... You YOU'RE..."

"I _am _dead." He admitted softly and Victoria shut her mouth. The look on her face was absolutely priceless and there was a moment where Drake had thought she was about to pass out, "W-Well, technically, I'm dead... I just... well... You know." Her green-blue eyes examined his face, and she began nodding slightly, taking a step towards him. "What?"

"The... You..." The brunette was unable to make clear sentences and he tilted his head to the side, watching as she fell into his arms, her hands wrapping around him. Now she was unafraid, and Drake wrapped his arms around her, holding the beauty against him and there was something that felt so right about this situation, but it felt wrong as well. "I can't believe it..." She whispered with a little shake of her head, "It's you." She smiled, while pulling away from the hug. Drake watched as a tear rolled down from her beautiful eyes and he wiped it away for her, just as he used to do when they were kids, "It's REALLY YOU!"

"And it's really you!" He grinned and she laughed lightly while raising a fair hand and wiping the tears away from her light eyes again. To make everything a little better, he smirked over to her, and tilted his head slightly, "You certainly know how to make an entrance..."

"I'm sorry I hurt you, but... You know, you almost killed me." She frowned and he chuckled, "Speaking of which, how did this happen to you? How did you get out here? Why didn't you come back to the castle?" He raised his eyebrows and the brunette smiled gently, nodding once, "I know... I have a lot of questions..."

"The vampire blood that Cole gave to me... it turned me into this." He gestured towards his fangs which extended quickly from the rest of his teeth, allowing Victoria to stumble backwards, almost tripping over herself. Drake grabbed her arm gently, and balanced her, "I wont hurt you... I know who you are." He paused lightly and she nodded her head, so he decided to continue on answering questions, "I got killed that night, and when I died, I turned into a vampire. Vampire blood turns people into a vampire if they die, but it also can heal you... and how I got out here? I-I ran away. I didn't want to stay there anymore, especially since I'd be the most hated thing in the kingdom." That was his first lie. "But, hey... you're hurt... come back with me."

She thought about it for a moment and nodded her head, "Yeah, ok... Where do you live now?"

"A boarding house..." He stated firmly and she raised her eyebrows, "You'll probably like it. Once I got in there, I did too." His amber eyes observed the outfit again and he smirked lightly, "Well... Don't you look..." A slight blush came to her fair skin and his smirk only grew, "What's the occasion?"

"I-It's my birthday..." She admitted with a slight blush and his eyes widened, "I'm eighteen today."

"Vee... I-I swear, I haven't been keeping track of days. I haven't forgotten that your birthday is June twenty forth. Believe me!" The brunette laughed slightly and shook her head, "I mean... When your a vampire... I-I guess time doesn't really matter and-"

"Drake. It's ok... honestly." She began laughing again and he frowned deeply. This was the first time in a while he had actually felt human, "Birthday's aren't a big deal to me, you know that." Drake nodded, but his eyes caught hold of something else... it was a ring, but it was placed on a chain and around her neck. She felt where his eyes were, and she touched the right, finding that the images of the little boy she always knew were gone.

"You kept that?" He asked bluntly and she nodded her head hesitantly, "After all these years... You still kept that."

"It was the only thing that reminded me of how close we were." Victoria stated with a sigh, "I wouldn't take it off, no matter how much Cole told me to." Drake raised his eyebrows. Why would Cole want her to take it- Oh no... He thought, and mentally frowned. She's taken isn't she?

"We better get going." Drake said lightly and she nodded, walking a couple paces ahead, but limped the entire time. He rolled his eyes and picked her up bridal style. This made her eyes widen and he gave her a tiny smirk, "I'm much quicker than YOU, trust me." With that, she laughed and he ran towards the boarding house. _Ha, bet Cole can't do this._ He thought with a sinister grin.

* * *

Scar's light green eyes watched the gates with complete hate. She LEFT the kingdom, hopped a gate that is unable to open, and is going to bring back someone who will probably try and take him down. "This can't be happening." He growled as one of the shapeshifters yanked the arrow from his leg, "WATCH IT." He exclaimed, kicking him square in the nose. Jason stumbled backwards and fixed his broken nose, everyone around him heard the crack, and watched as he healed quickly. "No... She can't bring anyone back!" He exclaimed feeling somewhat loopy, "He wont be an Ashburn... ONLY AN ASHBURN CAN ASSUME THE THRONE."

"And if she finds the secret out?" Ashton asked lightly, "Then they'll make HIM king, they will take you down... together."

"Then that is why we need to kill him." Scar growled, feeling his heart racing a million miles an hour, "We must find them and kill them... All her friends will be dead, and when she returns, she is going to wish she had never left."

"Where will we start?" Jason asked, while crossing his arms over his chest, "The grill?"

"Yes, we will start there, and if they run... we will find them." He stated firmly and stared at the gates again, "I don't care about everyone... The main ones I want dead are Ayden Renolds, Nick Morlet, and Shayna Frost."

The three shapeshifters exchanged glances of surprise, "Why the girl?" Ashton asked with raised eyebrows, "What threat is she to you?"

"She is a GIANT threat to, not me, but YOU." Scar grinned and the three shapeshifter's eyes widened, "Get the other wolf shapeshifters in the kingdom... then my suggestion, is to go take a walk."

* * *

Shayna stared into space for quite sometime, only listening to the conversations around her... but didn't comprehend any of them. "I wonder where the hell Victoria went!" Alison frowned and Danny nodded his head, "This is her birthday and she like... ditched it!"

"Probably for something better." Cole muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Or knowing her, she went home."

"Guys, leave her alone." Ayden stated and Nick nodded his head as he glared at Cole, "I don't think she would have left... Maybe something bad happened. And Cole, she didn't find something better, all her friends are here!"

"YEAH!" Alison exclaimed and smacked Cole on his arm, "She isn't heartless!"

Cole rolled his eyes and played with the knife that was on the table, twisting it around between his fingers. Danny raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Shayna, but she seemed to be in a different world, "You ok?" He asked with a slight smile, "Yo... Shayna! Come back to earth!" The blond shook her head, stepping out of the trance, but her eyes remained frightened. This wasn't like her. "... Shayna, really, are you alright?"

"No!" She exclaimed and jumped to her feet, watching as everyone around them danced, laughed, and had a great time, "We need to leave! _NOW_!"

"What?" Ayden asked and shook his head, "What about Victoria?"

"I don't know about her, but something dark is coming!" She exclaimed and frowned deeply, "I can feel it..."

Everyone exchanged looks of disbelief, and it was only until Alison broke the silence with a slight giggle, "Did you have a little too much to drink or what?" Danny and Cole exchanged smiles with one another, while Nick started laughing and shaking his head. Ayden however observed the emotion in Shayna's face and immediately got worried.

"Guys, I don't think she's playing around." The blond boy admitted softly and frowned, watching as Shayna began shaking. "Shayna... It's ok, just calm do-"

"I CAN'T!" She exclaimed, but as soon as she did that, windows in the grill shattered and people took cover, covering their heads and faces from the glass. Everyone screamed and held onto the closest person they were by, even the music was silenced and the D.J. was frozen in place with wide eyes. There was quiet for several moments, all they could hear were loud thumping noises on the roof, and as if right on cue, a howl approached everyone's ears, and three werewolf shapeshifters jumped through the broken windows, snarling at everyone.

"C'mon!" Ayden encouraged and Shayna stood there with wide eyes, staring at the shapeshifters. "SHAYNA, C'MON!" The blond shook her head and Ayden glanced at Danny, who ran over there immediately, grabbing her around the shoulders, trying to get her attention.

"Shayna, c'mon. We HAVE to go! We know you were right and I hope you aren't mad at us, but we seriously need to go before one of us get's killed." He frowned and she looked at him with wide eyes, "We can't have another one like that from our group." The blond nodded her head, realizing that her fear of werewolves needed to subside, and that her friends were counting on her to leave with them. Danny grabbed her hand, and the group headed towards the nearest exit, but that was until a wolf with black coating blocked the door. His eyes were settled on Ayden and he began growling menacingly. Soon enough, the other two joined in on their fun, the one with the light brown coats eyes focused on Shayna, and the gray one focused on Nick. "I really... really wish Victoria were here." Danny stated softly as he started backing up, "She knows that... trance thing."

The gray shapeshifter spat something out of it's mouth, and it looked like a cellphone. Nick stared at it for a moment and his eyes widened, "YOU..." He began and everyone stared at the phone with disbelief, "YOU KILLED MY SISTER?" The gray wolf grinned sheepishly, then all three of them pounced.

* * *

Drake sat Victoria upright and she smiled lightly, watching as her best friend made it up the stairs and towards the door. He didn't feel a presence following behind him, so he turned around, his amber eyes pouring into her light ones, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She stated and limped over to him, holding onto the railing. Half of him wished that she allowed him to carry her up the stairs as well, but she enjoyed her independence and Drake knew this. "It's just... I mean... There's lights on..." Drake raised his eyebrows, wondering where she was getting at, "As in... There are people who live here with you."

"Oh..." He said lightly and shook his head, "Don't worry about them... and if you don't want to meet them, I can bring you up the stairs so fast that they wont even know who walked through the door."

"Do they know what you are?" Victoria asked as he lifted her from the ground again and reached for the doorknob, "I mean... They are humans right? This is a normal world..."

"Yeah... two are humans." He admitted softly and her eyebrows scrunched together, "Uh... Look, don't worry about it Vee, I promise you, no one will harm you." She opened her mouth again to argue, but he quickly silenced it by running through the door and up the stairs. As they passed the family room, he observed that Riley and Evan's eyes were glued to the T.V., not even the sound of the door blowing open was enough to tare their vision away. One thing he did notice was that Aurora was not with them. _She must be in her room_, Drake thought with a roll of his eyes, _good. Let her stay there_.

Turning quickly, he went into the bathroom and sat her down on the counter and rummaged through the cabinets to see exactly what kind of treatments they have for wounds. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this." Victoria admitted softly as she glanced around the gigantic bathroom, it was just as beautiful as the ones in the castle.

"Used to what?" Drake asked as he continued to look for things such as Neosporin or just alcohol to get rid of the bacteria inside the wound.

"How quick you are... How STRONG you are." She laughed lightly, giving him her full attention, and he gave her an impish smile, which caught Victoria off guard, "I mean... I-It's just so weird to think... that this entire time we were raised to hate vampires. Yet, here you are... and here I am not caring."

"I'd hate to break up a moment." A voice came from the door and Drake glared at it. Victoria jumped and turned to look at the female who had just appeared out of practically thin air with cautious eyes, "But if you're trying to help her wound, I suggest she drinks vampire blood. It's a lot better and will heal her a lot faster."

"Oh, hey, Aurora. That's _fascinating _news." Drake answered her sarcastically and leaned his hand against the counter. "Wanna hear something else that's _'oh so fascinating_'?"Aurora crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head, "Get the hell out."

"Hmm." The female stated and flipped her dark hair out of the way, "No introductions?" Victoria's eyes met the ground and Aurora frowned slightly, "I'm hurt."

"Don't pout." Drake warned and walked over to her, "It doesn't look good on a woman your age."

"Ouch." Aurora smirked and shoved Drake aside, walking over to Victoria. "I'm Aurora Jameson." She stated and held her hand out for the brunette beauty to shake.

Victoria grabbed the female vampire's hand and was actually surprised at how strong she was. The female actually was able to push Drake right into the wall, "Victoria Morlet."

Her eyes widened and she let go of the brunette's hand quite quickly. Drake removed himself from the wall and stared at Aurora with his eyebrows raised as she headed towards the door, "A-Are you from Ashburn?" Victoria nodded her head cautiously and Drake joined his best friend's side immediately, "S-So you actually know him? You aren't some-"

"OK." Drake exclaimed, making the human jump slightly. "I think she's heard enough, Rora, thank you." The female vampire smirked and turned on her heel, walking out of the room quickly. Victoria eyed her best friend suspiciously, but he shook his head. "She's... something else." He muttered and Victoria frowned deeply. "What?" He paused and she shook her head, "C'mon Vee, what is it? Remember, I can read you like a book. That hasn't changed."

"S-She's just..." Victoria started to say, but shook her head quickly. Drake nodded in agreement, putting the pieces together.

"Yes, she is a bitc-"

"NO, no... Not what I meant at all!" Victoria giggled and Drake raised his eyebrows, "She's beautiful..."

"And?" Drake asked bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"W-Well, I mean." Victoria began and shook her head, deciding to lie, "Well... I-I don't know what I mean exactly."

Drake sighed and leaned his face, close to Victoria's. This took her by surprise, but she didn't dare move away, "You are too, Vee." He stated firmly and he smelled absolutely heavenly. The brunette thought she could pass out right there; but something kept her conscious... and she wanted him to hold her more than anything. "You don't need to be a vampire to get such beauty... She on the other hand does."

"HEY." Aurora yelled from the kitchen and Drake rolled his eyes, moving away from Victoria and closer to the door, "I CAN HEAR YOU, YOU KNOW."

"THEN QUIT EAVESDROPPING." The vampire yelled and slammed the door before turning around and rolled his eyes muttering, "Pain in the ass..."

Victoria started laughing again and shook her head quickly. He gave her, yet again, another impish smile and tilted his head to the side, "You are still the same way, since you were a kid." The beauty smiled and he nodded, agreeing completely with her, "Except..." This made him freeze, and look at her with suspicion, although, she had a flirty smile planted on her face, "A little more... _dangerous_."

"Dangerous, huh?" He grinned and once she nodded, he grew a little closer to her, tilting his head to the side. "And... is this a good or bad thing?" She blushed a deep red and glanced at the ground, keeping her mouth shut. "Cat got your tongue?" Drake smirked and she sighed gently, nodding her head, "Oh... shoot, it must be a bad thing then, huh?"

"No!" Victoria exclaimed and Drake tilted his head, "It's... a hot thing." Was Victoria Morlet coming onto HIM? Drake thought, and pushed the idea of Cole and her dating out of his mind completely. She likes HIM, she's always liked him. "Ugh... I'm sorry." She frowned and he raised his eyebrows, "That was... very weird. I mean, we just met and truth is... I-I had the biggest crush on you when we were kids and I wanted to see if I still liked you and-"

"Relax." Drake said, holding her gaze and compelling her to calm down. Immediately, she calmed and blinked quickly, feeling very confused. What just happened? The beauty thought and she stared at him with suspicious filled eyes.

"How did you..." Victoria began and he shook his head, "What? Cat got _YOUR _tongue?" Her voice sounded very playful, yet sarcastic and Drake felt like he was alive again, like he was still ten years old, but the brilliant thing about being older... if he made a move now, it wouldn't be weird, "So tell me... How did you grow into an adult if you turned into a vampire when you were ten."

He knew that question was coming and he decided to keep her waiting, to test out her patience. It wasn't for anything important, but he enjoyed messing with her, "I'll tell you everything AFTER you clean up." Victoria was taken by surprise and she opened her mouth, but he knew what she was going to say, "Don't worry about it, Aurora will give you clothes."

This made the brunette roll her eyes due to pure frustration, and she prayed that this next statement wasn't true, otherwise, he'd know everything. "What?" She asked sarcastically, "Do you read minds too?"

"I wish." He grinned and she mentally sighed with relief, "But, unfortunately, my only power is compulsion." Victoria's eyebrows scrunched together, yet again, out of pure confusion and she opened her mouth to ask another question, but she was silenced by his infamous, charming, smirk. "Don't worry about it, I'll tell you what it is and everything about me when you're done." Drake headed left the room with inhumanly fast sped and she watched as towels were being thrown into the room, "I'll have Aurora drop her clothes off in here." Victoria nodded and watched as the door closed behind him and she glanced around, allowing a heavy sigh to escape her lips. _Long night? I think so_, she thought but grinned slightly, _best night? By far._

* * *

Some type of force pushed all of the teenagers out of the way. Alison landed on top of Ayden with wide eyes, while Nick, Danny, and Cole fell to the other side, scooting backwards. Shayna, however, was replaced by a giant, black panther, but not just any black panther... the teeth were elongated, almost like a saber tooth tiger. "What the hell?" Ayden asked and quickly got up, holding onto Alison, as she hid behind him. "Sh-Shayna?"

The panther didn't respond, instead, when the wolves all went after it, she grew angry and swatted them across the face with her long claws. "HOLY SHIT!" Nick screamed and Ayden took Alison's hand and lead her to the other side, careful that they didn't get in the way of the brawl.

"We have to get out of here!" Cole exclaimed and Alison's wide eyes went even wider.

"What about Shayna!" She exclaimed, "We can't just leave her here!"

"I'm with Ali on this one." Danny nodded in total agreement, "She's helping us out, but we have to do something! She can't fend off all three of them!"

"W-WELL, WHAT COULD WE POSSIBLY DO?" Cole yelled, trying to get through to their heads, "Victoria got killed and she was the only one who was good at fending them off." Nick frowned and tears flooded to his eyes. "W-Well, I mean... if you think about it, she's with Drake again... S-She's not sad or anything..." Nick looked at the ground and Ayden rolled his eyes at Cole, "WHAT? I'M TRYING TO BE NICE-" A paw swiped between the group and two of the shapeshifter's jumped in the middle of everyone. "RUN!"

Ayden began running with Alison's hand still in is, but both of them went in a completely different direction than Nick, Danny and Cole. Nick, being the slowest and youngest, ran behind the two boys, knocking things that were off to the sides behind him to throw the shapeshifter off, and when the gray one slipped on something the brunette grinned and picked up the pace, "SCORE!"

Ayden, however, was having a difficult time with trying to get away, and once the light brown shapeshifter pounced on top of him, Alison grabbed the nearest object and began beating him with it, although, it didn't harm him and he shoved her away with his snout, snarling out of annoyance. During the time of the distraction, Ayden began scooting away and when the shapeshifter snapped its head back to look at him and bite, the blond boy kicked his foot into the air, nailing the wolf right in the jaw. "HA! TAKE THAT, BITCH!" Alison exclaimed and once Ayden got to his feet, he grinned over to her and they both began running again.

The two made it all the way to an emergency exit, and once they left the building, howls approached them from the top of the roof. "THERE'S MORE?" Ayden exclaimed and the brunette began to hyperventilate. Glancing at the roof, he saw as more and more shapeshifters came into view, "GET TO MY CAR." He yelled and they both started running full speed towards the silver dodge charger, hearing some of the shapeshifters following behind them. Alison and Ayden sent jinxes over to them, and watched as some of them had gotten hurt, but some of them stumbled backwards and kept on going.

Waving an arm over the car, Ayden unlocked it and it already started up for him. The blonde made it to the car first, slamming the door shut and putting his seat belt on, Alison mimicked him, and Ayden sped off to find the rest of the gang, hopefully, they weren't dead yet.

* * *

Victoria stepped from out of the shower, wearing shorts and a tank top... something that Aurora must have had in her closet, but it was just around the perfect size. Walking out into the hallway, she glanced around, feeling a bit confused as to which room was Drake's, he never did tell her. "Drak-" She began to say, but Aurora showed up, crossing her arms over her chest, and one of her fingers pointing to a staircase, leading up to a trap door. "He's... in the attic?"

"Well yeah, but that's his room." She stated firmly and smiled, "If you want to stay down here, in another room, I'm sure I can make that happen... There isn't too much stuff in-"

"Oh, it's fine... If you guys have to move things out of rooms, I'll just stay with Drake." _That's my excuse?_ Victoria thought and Aurora gave her a playful smile. She knew too much already, "Yeah, I'm pathetic." The human laughed lightly and shook her wet head, "But-" Aurora placed a finger on her lips and Victoria's eyebrows scrunched together, then she pointed to her ears and the brunette took it as a warning... that Drake could probably hear them. "Right..."

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Aurora stated and walked into her room, saying one last thing in a singy song tone of voice, "Goodniiiiiight."

"Goodnight..." Victoria replied and quietly started up the stairs, opening the trap door and praying that the female vampire didn't just lead her to something terrible, "Drake are you up he-" Her mouth dropped and she watched as he turned around, pulling on a shirt. "I am... so... I mean... I didn't know you..."

"It's fine, Vee... I was putting a shirt on." He grinned and walked over there, pulling her through the door and putting her swiftly on her feet, "So, what do you want to know exactly?" Victoria needed a moment... His body looked absolutely perfect, like it was carved from marble. He laid down on the king size bed, and threw a tiny baseball into the air, catching it, and throwing it again. "By the way... Make yourself at home..." He glanced over to her winking, "I won't mind."

* * *

**AN:** Wow, so we learn a lot about Shayna in this chapter. 1. she's a threat to the shapeshifters... 2. She knew something dark was coming and 3. she turns into a panther? WTF? Yeah... confusing right? Don't worry, next chapter, she'll explain everything, just how Drake is talking to Victoria and explaining how everything works when you are a vampire.

SOOOO FROM THE BEGINNING.

Drake meets Victoria again, almost ATTACKS her, but she surprises him, doing her infamous move. He knew it was her right away and probably was extremely surprised! When he brought her back to the house, what did you think was going through Victoria's head? Or even Aurora's?

Shayna knew something bad was going to happen... but how? No one believed her until the entire place almost went up in flames. Ayden and Alison hook up? (Hm, maybe... but who knowwwwws) Cole = annoying? yes. yes he does. Nick = funny. yes. yes he is. XD Except I feel bad when he thinks his sister had gotten killed... and the irony of it all was when Cole said: **W-Well, I mean... if you think about it, she's with Drake again... S-She's not sad or anything...**

**IROOOONYYYY.**

**Favorite parts:** When Aurora was all "I HEARD THAT" When Drake said that Victoria has natural beauty, and unlike Aurora, she doesn't need to become a vampire to get it. XDD

When Victoria walked in the room when Drake was putting his shirt on and she was all O_O -Stares- hahaha. He prolly planned it ;)

When Ayden kicked Jason square in the jaw, and Alison was all "HA, TAKE THAT BITCH!" XDDD

And when Nick was all "SCOOOOORE" lmao.


	20. Kill or be killed

**Kill or be Killed**

There was an entire army of shapeshifters, and Nick had a feeling who was behind it all. Scar. It had to be! The youngest boy glanced around quickly before they exited the building, and he grabbed some supplies, handing it to both the boys he was running with, "Magic will help, but only a little." Nick stated, as the two eighteen year old's stared at their hands, looking at their weapons with wonder, "Believe me, it will work. Magic will only injure them just enough, but we need to make sure they can't even follow us back to safety."

"And where exactly IS safety?" Cole asked with wide brown eyes, "The castle most definitely is NOT safe." _So he felt the same thing I did about Scar?_ Nick thought and watched as Cole shook his head out of pure disgust, "WE NEED A GOOD KING ... no where is safe until we get that."

"Yeah, but we have to try." Nick stated and looked down at the crowbar that was in his pale hands, "We all know what we're doing, right?"

"No." Both Danny and Cole admitted bluntly, which made Nick roll his eyes. The youngest boy didn't even bother explaining, he just clutched the crowbar tight and walked out an emergency exit door. Shapeshifters seemed to be everywhere and this took him by surprise; he didn't know there were that many of them in this kingdom, but in the Kingdom of Ashburn, there is a magical diversity.

"H-How many are there exactly?" Danny asked as he joined the younger boy's side.

"Too many to count." Cole muttered as he joined the other side. All of the shapeshifters glanced towards the door, hearing voices and all three of them froze. "Great, now they're coming over here!" Nick went into a stance and saw the first giant wolf running towards him.

"Come on." He muttered and the two other boy's stared at him with disbelief. "Come get me." The wolf continued running full speed ahead towards Nick, and once he got close enough, Nick side stepped him and, as hard as possible, hit the whining wolf over the head, possibly putting him into a coma or giving him brain damage. "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!"

The two other boy's glanced at each other with astounded expressions, but they mimicked Nick's exact movements, fending off the other wolves that came by them, more and more kept piling up and the three boy's were mainly scratched, but yet were to be bitten. A loud beep entered their ears and all heads, including the wolves, looked to the side to see Ayden's car. "HURRY UP!" He called after them and Nick hit another wolf across the muzzle, before climbing on top of them and running straight for the car. The other two were not so lucky, but Ayden placed a protective charm over them, which was only something he can hold for a small amount of time. Danny entered the backseat of the car, behind Nick, and then Cole did followed with a frightened expression.

Finding this their cue, Ayden threw the car in drive and began speeding off towards the castle, trying to get away from the delusional wolves, "WHERE ARE WE GOING?" Nick exclaimed and Ayden sighed heavily, looking in his rear view mirror.

"Back to the castle, I need answers." The blond stated and all eyes widened, mainly because they knew exactly WHO was at the castle. "I know, guys... I know that Scar is evil and insane, but where else can we go?"

"Leave the damn kingdom, that's what we can do." Cole stated and this made Ayden stop quickly, "WHAT? KEEP GOING!"

"No... That's IT!" Ayden grinned and pulled into the woods, going down the familiar path. "We'll fulfill what Victoria didn't! We're going to get help."

"What about Shayna?" Danny asked with a slight frown, "I mean... She's stuck with them... she might be dead..."

"I'm with Danny on this one." Alison agreed, a small frown tugging on her sweet lips, "Shayna saved our lives... should we go back and try to save hers?"

"No." Cole stated and everyone looked at him with cynical expressions, including Danny, that after all was his so called _'best friend'_, "What I mean is... if we go back to save her and we die too, then she did this for nothing... then it'll all be a waste."

There was quiet for a moment, and then Ayden nodded his head in agreement. "Exactly. We must keep going... Shayna did this for us, we just need to hope that she isn't dead."

* * *

It was around three o'clock in the morning, and Victoria had just fallen asleep, her head rested gently against the pillow and Drake's amber eyes fixated on her, observing everything. The brunette was absolutely gorgeous, she didn't need makeup, although he noticed that earlier she had some on. When he had explained everything to her, she understood quickly and even asked questions about it, as if she were interested.

Silently, Drake crawled over her and landed on the floor, swiftly he headed towards the trapdoor, only to hear Victoria turning over and mumbling something. His eyes went wide, and he glanced over to her, but he noticed that the bruntte's eyes were indeed still closed. Sighing out of relief, the young vampire pulled the trapdoor open and softly shut it before walking down the stairs. "You're still up?" Aurora asked as she peeked her head around the corner to see what the noise was. There really wasn't any noise to the human ears, but to a vampire, it's something they could hear loud and clear.

"Yes." He stated and sighed gently before joining her in the kitchen, watching her clean the dishes that Riley and Evan made a mess of, "I have a question..." Aurora nodded her head towards him and he continued on, "When you heard Victoria's name... why did you flip out and immediately know that I knew her from Ashburn?"

The female vampire smiled and washed the plates slowly, "You caught that, huh?" She asked and Drake nodded his head, although she wasn't looking at him, she could still see through her peripherals, "Well, way back when, you weren't the only one with ancestors, Drake. Victoria's ancestor used to be my best friend, but William also liked her, which got me angry. I've always had a thing for William... even before he bit me." Drake's eyebrows rose and she sighed heavily, "Victoria's ancestor is named Annabelle Patrov- Morlet, and her looks are pretty similar to Victoria's. I'm surprised I didn't catch on earlier, though, Annabelle's skin was more of an olive tone, and her hair was much darker... but the faces are very similar. Not like you and William, of course. You two are identical." Drake nodded his head and Aurora continued on, "Annabelle was able to get any man she wanted, she was beautiful and charming and elegant, but behind closed doors... she was a true bitch. She stayed human though... William didn't want to turn her, he said that he loved her so much that he didn't want this for her... you know... the undead... immortal life. She said she wanted it if she could be with him forever, and she would do anything in her power to get it, but he over ruled her." She paused and put the plate down after realizing she had scrubbed it enough, "I saw everything happen... but I still chose to love him. I'm not sure why, but I was stupid... and I still kind of am." Her lips pulled back, revealing a beautiful smile and Drake smiled back softly, leaning his head against the wall, "After we left Ashburn, or... got kicked out, William realized he would never see Annabelle again, I'm sure of it. And he clung to me... when I made the curse, then all this hell started."

"So William was actually in love with Annabelle Petrov? B-But she married and became a Morlet?" Drake asked and Aurora nodded her head, "And... he didn't turn her because it would be selfish?"

"No." The female vampire stated and Drake raised his eyebrows due to confusion, "He didn't turn her because he didn't want this kind of life himself, but, he had no choice did he? She had a choice, and he didn't want this for her because he loved her so much. It has nothing to do with him being selfless, look what he did to me... to everyone else... To YOU."

"ME?" Drake asked with wide eyes and Aurora nodded, "Wait, he TURNED me?"

"Well, you said you saw him at the gate, under the hood... Instantly after it was death. Someone had to of been working for him, and who ever gave you the blood-"

"Cole Archer." Drake growled and Aurora's eyebrows raised, "COLE ARCHER... HE GAVE ME THE BLOOD." Before Aurora could ask questions, the young vampire ran up the stairs and walked through the trapdoor, not caring about making any noises. "Vee! Psst, wake up!" The brunette tossed and turned for a moment, letting a groan slip past her lips, "C'mon, Vee... please..." Her blue-green eyes sluggishly opened and she at first forgot where she was, but then remembered everything. "Victoria... Cole Archer... did he tell you anything after I died? Anything... you know, important or hinting?" Victoria rubbed her tired eyes and remembered bits and pieces of her past, but she tried to pull things apart.

_"Sometimes when you can't stop thinking about someone, it's your subconscious telling you that they're supposed to be there." Cole began while shoving his hands into his sweatshirt pockets, "That's what happened with you and now look... we're friends again!"_

_"What are you saying, Cole?" She asked with confused eyes and his eyebrows scrunched together, "You thought about me... yes, we are friends again... but if I keep thinking about Drake, it's not going to bring him back."_

_The darker boy frowned and nodded his head slowly... almost unsure of himself._

"Possibly..." She said sleepily, "Why? What do you know?"

Drake opened his mouth to talk, but Aurora stepped into the room, her arms crossed over her chest. "We need to know everything, Victoria..."

"Why?" The brunette asked, sitting up taller and Drake glanced at Aurora with wide eyes. "Y-You think Cole knew?"

"I think his father did." Drake growled, though his vision was still on the female vampire, "And told Cole to give it to me." Victoria's tired eyes widened and Drake heard her heart beating faster and faster, "Of course he wouldn't tell anybody."

"Why wouldn't he tell me?" Victoria frowned and shook her head, "We went out and-"

The young vampire's eyes widened and he looked as if he were slapped in the face, "You went out with that idiot?" He paused and Aurora looked at him with cautious eyes, "Seriously, the guy practically poisoned me and you go out with him."

"Drake, I hadn't talked to him in years, and I thought we were all at fault since we didn't stop you from drinking the vampire blood." The brunette beauty admitted softly with a slight blush on her gorgeous face, "Besides, we went out for a couple of hours and he pissed me off... That was the end of that, though, he did kiss me... and told me he loved me-"

"Oh, wonderful." Drake grumbled rolled his eyes, "The little rat WANTED me gone... After all this time I thought he was a good friend of mine... Looks like I was wrong... I'm always wrong."

"You don't know that, he could have been forced." Aurora stated firmly and this made Drake think, "When parents tell you to do something at a certain age, you have to do it... besides, was Cole's father a scary man?" Both of them remembered when he beat Cole, but half of Drake thought that it was all just a sick act.

"I don't care. He's the reason I'm LIKE this, he's the reason I can't be human and live a normal LIFE." He couldn't believe he was spilling his secrets out, and the young vampire watched as Aurora's face changed from deep in thought, to a tiny smirk, "YES, I MISS BEING HUMAN." Drake growled over to her and she grinned, "I miss it MORE THAN ANYTHING in this world, but what can I do about it? NOTHING."

"Ok, calm down before you go on another one of your rampages." The female vampire warned and Victoria looked at her with a confused expression, "By the way, did you give Victoria vampire blood?"

"Why on earth... would I give her vampire blood?" He asked out of pure annoyance and Aurora gave him a strange look, "I know that vampire blood helps heal wounds faster but I can't risk her turning out like this!" He motioned towards himself, allowing the fangs to come out. In the trapdoor, two figures emerged and they were rubbing their tired eyes.

"What's with all the yelling?" Riley muttered as he sluggishly pulled himself through, "It's three o'clock in the damn morning. This is time for sleep... and..." His beady eyes fixated on Victoria and he raised his eyebrows, "Who are you?"

Drake sat next to his best friend and she felt a little uncomfortable when people just stared at her, "This is Victoria... She's my best friend from the... from where I ran away from." Both Riley and Evan gave her an unsure look, and then pure disgust poured into Riley's features_. What's this about?_ Drake thought, and he glanced over to Aurora who shrugged and shook her head.

"Well, that's just wonderful." Riley stated sarcastically and Victoria raised her eyebrows, "And let me guess... you're both in love and then once he goes to make a move you'll STAB HIM RIGHT IN THE HEAR-" With lightening fast speed, Aurora covered Riley's mouth and Drake nodded at her as a silent thank you. The tiny redhead made muffling sounds and shook his fist at the newcomer as Aurora dragged him over to the trapdoor and walked down the stairs.

"We'll talk tomorrow, Drake." She stated softly, but even though he didn't answer, she knew he heard her. Evan looked over Victoria again and smiled slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable because of what just happened.

"I'm Evan, it's a pleasure to meet you." The bigger man stated and she nodded her head, extending a hand for him to shake.

"Pleasures all mine." She replied but kept her face blank as he shook her hand. Within minutes, Evan turned around to leave so he could find his friend, and probably ask what that was about. Drake couldn't help but wonder himself, but one of the positive aspects of being a vampire, Drake and Aurora could both hear whatever they talked about, so they would be prepared for anything out of the ordinary.

Once the trapdoor closed, Drake placed his hand on Victoria's back. This must have startled her, because she jumped and looked at him with wide eyes, "You ok?" He asked comfortingly and she nodded her head, though he wasn't so sure, "Hey, don't listen to Riley... he's just... looking out for me I guess, in his own weird way."

"Why?" The question just slid out of her mouth and he frowned, "Why would he act like that? Who did you go out with that stabbed you in the back?"

"I-I didn't go out with her..." Drake began, unsure if he should even tell this story. "I... liked her but nothing ever happened between us." She stared at him for a while, not buying and he sighed, nodding his head, "Ok. I liked... Aurora... when I was training and when I found out that she didn't like me back, practically using me, I... got a little... well, mean."

"Mean?" Victoria asked and tilted her head, "Is that why you almost attacked me back there?" Drake nodded and this took her by surprise, "Do you... kill people?"

This was a difficult question to answer... because he has killed, both on accident and intentionally, but after that girl with the dog, he hadn't killed anyone, "I... have made my mistakes in the past, but now I'm fine."

Victoria got up for this and he frowned watching as she moved closer to the trapdoor, "Drake, I don't understand... What are you NOT telling me?"

_That I have huge feelings for you and that I wish we were never apart_. Drake thought with a simple roll of his eyes, "Victoria, trust me, there are things that a vampire shouldn't talk about. I've had a dark _p-past_, I don't want to talk about it... Please." She saw the pleading in his eyes and she nodded her head, because she knew about rough pasts, "Yes, I have been a dick lately but... it's who I am, it's how my personality is and it amplifies once you're a vampire."

"You're only half." She pointed out and he smiled softly, getting to his feet and walking over to her. Their eye contact never faltered and she her heart began racing faster and faster.

"The transformation is all the same, and everything that comes with it is all the same." His voice sounded like angels and she stared at him with want again... being this close was way too dangerous for her, not because he's a vampire, but because she wanted him to kiss her more than anything, "Being a half vampire just means that my heart beats and I can walk in the sun. I'm practically half alive, but I don't know. I can't turn anybody. When I bite, venom doesn't come out of my fangs... I can't turn people with my blood, only full vampire's can do that. BUT, I do have a pretty cool power..."

"The whole... compulsion thing." She stated with a slight smile and he nodded, "Being a vampire, it sounds... _cool_. I'm sort of jealous." His eyebrows scrunched together and she shrugged lightly, "I mean... You get to stay young and hot forever while... everyone around you ages... and dies off... I-I don't wanna age-"

"Vee, aging is apart of life." Drake replied, shaking his head. The young vampire knew exactly where she was getting at, and the answer is no. "You wouldn't want to miss out, trust me. I'm already pissed that- Well... Never mind." He smirked and she tilted her head, "That would just be another lie. I love being young and hot." He winked over to her which made her heart flutter... Drake enjoyed hearing that, because he knew she wanted him. "SO." He began and snapped her out of it, "You never did tell me WHY you left the kingdom... What happened?"

Victoria frowned and knew that this question was coming, but how could she make him to go back? He seemed so happy here, it's going to take a lot, "The kingdom is... terrible." Drake's eyes widened, mainly because he didn't expect this at all, "Scar uses people as his own personal slaves around the castle... the economy is under... He almost, well... you know." The young vampire shook his head and she sighed gently, "He... he almost raped me, Drake."

"WHAT?" He exclaimed and Victoria nodded, "ARE YOU- WHY? WHAT THE HELL DOES HE WAN- NEVER MIND... Stupid question." The vampire growled and walked over to a window, "So... my uncles a gross pig. That's just great... let's add it to the growing pile of things that need to be dealt with."

"S-So you'll go back? And take back what's rightfully yours?" Drake's eyes widened, but Victoria was happy. "You are the king, Drake!"

"No." He stated firmly and this took her by surprise.

"No?" She asked with a dropped jaw and he nodded his head, "WHY?"

"Because, I don't want it." He replied, glancing around his gigantic, cozy room, "I'm happy here. I'm not going back." He never told her the reason as to WHY he couldn't go back, so making excuses was the only thing he had left. Real excuse number one, he killed his own father. Real excuse number two, the moment he walks through those gates, everything is unlocked forever for the vampires to roam around in. The whole kingdom would be at risk.

"I think you'd be happier there, Drake." She frowned and he shook his head stubbornly, "Fine... Well, just so you know... if you don't do something about it, I WILL." He raised his eyebrows and started chuckling.

"And what exactly do you have planned, miss Morlet?" He smirked and she glared up at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't know, and I don't care what it is... any plan is better than YOURS." Ouch, he thought, and watched as she sat down on the bed, in a rather unhappy spot, "I came to get help... I found YOU, don't you understand? YOU ARE THE KINGDOMS ONLY HOPE!"

_Yes, she found ME because William wanted it to happen. _Drake thought, but he didn't dare tell her about his evil psychopath twin; that was something she didn't need to know. All of this was just so William could get through those gates... he couldn't go back. "Sorry." He replied in a rather arrogant tone of voice and she glared over to him, daring to get in his face.

"How could you be so arrogant and glib after everything I told you? This is your kingdom, you need to protect it!" She shot back and he smirked lightly, getting in _her _face. Their lips quite literally only inches from one another.

"And how could you be so _brave _and _STUPID _to call a vampire _arrogant _and _glib_?" He asked sarcastically and she backed off slightly, keeping her arms crossed over her chest.

"If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead." The beautiful brunette stated firmly, making a very good point.

Drake nodded his head and added in a charming tone of voice, "Yes, you would."

"But I'm not." Victoria grinned in a father victorious way, looking him up and down, thinking that she won.

His smile only grew, and he picked her chin up with his fingers, looking into her beautiful eyes, "Yet."

* * *

"HERE IT IS." Ayden exclaimed as he drove like an absolute maniac through the forest, "The sealed gate."

"Oh yeah, that's all I want to see is a bunch of dead people walking around." Nick observed the area, but noticed that no one was down there, they even lost the wolves on their way over here, "This place gives me the creeps. I don't know how Drake and Victoria did it at age ten."

"You know... for someone who just lost their sister... you don't seem to sad about it." Cole stated and Nick shot him a glare, "I mean come on... you love her to death, she's gone now... I don't think a tear was even shed."

Danny and Alison looked over to Nick, realizing that Cole made an interesting point. The Morlet siblings were closer than any other siblings they've known and her sudden death hasn't affected him at all? "I just..." The youngest boy began and they all raised their eyebrows, "I just feel like she got away somehow... I mean, wouldn't there have been blood on their snouts if they killed her? Or maybe... I don't know... Scar may have her, I'm just praying that he doesn't do anything to harm her... and once I see him, I'm going to axe his head off and plaster it to my fucking wall."

Ayden stopped the car and everyone looked at him, "C'mon... We all need to go... NOW before it's too late and they catch up or realize what we're doing." The gang quickly shot out of the car, and Alison ran over to the fence first, with Danny right behind her. She put her foot into his hand, mainly because she couldn't climb a fence if her life depended on it, and it did. After she hopped over, the darkness began to scare her and she frowned deeply.

"Someone can jump over anytime soon..." She began and started shaking, "I don't like being here by myself..."

Danny then climbed the gate without any help, whatsoever, and he hurled himself over it, landing on the beautiful summer grass. Alison's body relaxed, although, she didn't put her guard down. The sweet girl knew that vampires existed around here, and she wasn't exactly sure how to fend one off, but she would kick and scream if she had to. Cole was next, but right when he jumped over, someone appeared from the shadows, holding a girl with pale blonde hair, pale skin, and bright brown eyes.

"Now, now, now..." Scar said softly, followed by his three shapeshifters, "This is interesting, isn't it?" Shayna's eyes widened when she saw that Ayden and Nick were ready to jump the fence and the blond boy noticed the scratches and blood that oozed from the open wounds. "Just the three I wanted to see."

"WHERE'S MY SISTER YOU ASSHOLE." Nick yelled, unafraid of the king's orders. "I know she's not dead WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?"

"Back at the castle." He lied swiftly with a tilt of his head, "After I left her, I came to find you. Your mother's are VERY worried."

"And I care about them worrying, why?" The youngest boy asked, "You're the one who caused all of this to happen, YOU'RE the one at fault, not us... So you can just go rot in hell."

"Yes... BUT, I'm not going to be the one dying tonight." He added and kept a firm hold on Shayna's shoulder. The poor girl looked weak and Ayden felt terrible about leaving her to deal with all of that. His light green eyes shifted behind the two boy's and he saw Danny, Cole and Alison behind the sealed gate. "What on earth are you-" But before he could finish, another force knocked Scar back and a black panther reappeared. Shayna was free from his disgusting grasp, and she gracefully ran and jumped over the gate, using but very little power. Once she landed on the grass, she changed back into her human form and panted, feeling even worse than before.

Finding this the opportunity, Ayden and Nick simultaneously climbed the gate, but once Scar took notice of this, he fled over there, pulling on Ayden's leg, mainly because Nick had gotten over first. "AYDEN!" Nick yelled and Alison grabbed a hold of him, trying to yank him forward.

"GET THE HELL OFF ME." The blond boy screamed and began kicking, though he missed several times. Scar started laughing sinisterly and he grabbed the knife out of his pocket, stabbing the blond boy in the leg, and sawing downward. Ayden screamed in agonizing pain, and that was only until Nick climbed the fence again and hit Scar right in the face with a branch. The blond boy fell backwards, landing on the normal human's land and he panted while, holding onto his bloody leg.

Everyone, aside from Shayna and Nick, rushed to his side immediately and Danny took off his shirt, pressing the fabric to the deep wound. "It'll stop the bleeding." He stated and everyone frowned, watching as tears flowed down from his eyes.

"Well, it wasn't an axe..." Nick stated as he jumped down from the fence, "But it made me feel so much happier." His light blue eyes glanced back into the kingdom, watching as Scar got up from getting hit in the face. "NEXT TIME... YOUR HEAD... GET'S PLASTERED TO MY WALL."

"We have to get out of here!" Alison exclaimed with a frown, "If we stay here, the vampires will come... and what if Scar jumps the gate?"

"He wont." Nick stated while going to Shayna's side, knowing that she was weak, "He's afraid of the bloodsuckers. Truth be told, I am too... but ANYWHERE is better than being in there."

Everyone, aside from Ayden and Shayna, watched as Scar had disappeared with the shapeshifters, and they turned to look at Nick, "How do you know he's afraid of vampires?" Cole asked with suspicious eyes and the youngest grinned.

"I over heard conversations with the wolves... those three aren't the only ones who spy around the castle you know." He replied with a mischievous grin and everyone smiled back, happy for some comic relief.

* * *

Asaka slept the entire early morning away, but woke up abruptly, staring at the clock with wide eyes. "Tree thirty." She spoke softly and felt some cold winds rattle everything that was hanging around her house. Swiftly, the woman got to her feet and closed the window, but an eerie feeling fell upon her. Images of a man who had straight auburn hair, amber eyes and a slight smirk, kept popping up in her head.

The pain inside of her mind felt exotic, this has never happened before, but soon she put the pieces together once she saw a little boy who looked just like the older man. That little boy was Drake Ashburn, but now he's older? This slightly confused her and once the images left her mind she started to laugh and a slight grin spread across her lips, "KING JAMES... IS ET REALLY TRUE? IS DE PRINCE STILL ALIVE?"

The window blew open again and another laugh escaped from the tired, yet surprised and happy, woman. "OH DIS IS GOOD NEWS, VERY VERY GOOD NEWS!" Asaka jumped over to her drawing of Drake Ashburn and she smiled at it, "Ello, King Drake... IT IS TIME!" But another wind blew in again and she frowned, this wind was not good, not good at all. "What?" She asked with a frown. "Who must be protected?" The spirits spoke again and she cold hear Jame's voice loud and clear, "Go and protect de ones in de castle? But why?" This time the spirits were silenced and the wind stopped blowing, this meant that they had no time to explain, and that before fulfilling her duties for Drake, another calls.

* * *

**AN:** Alright, so from the beginning... I absolutely love Nick's reaction to things :) It's just funny. He's also fun to write for. Him and Drake XDD

I felt aboslutely sad when I wrote about Ayden getting stabbed in the leg AND THEN SCAR STARTED SAWING DOWNWARD? OMG... But when Nick saved the day and hit him with a branch, it made everything worthwhile XD "Well, it wasn't an axe, but it made me feel so much happier." XD

Shayna's alive... but hopefully she doesn't get drained of power ):

DRAKE AND VICTORIAAAAAAAA. :) They crack me up.

So we found out about Annabelle Petrov- Morlet. She kind of looks like Victoria (but not like how William and Drake do) and she was Aurora's BFF. Annabelle and William were together? But he did something good for her and let her live a life. If he didn't... Victoria wouldn't be here, so I guess William is good for something ;)

Riley doesn't like her, mainly because of what happened to Drake before. How he was 'in love' or he thought he was, and when he went with Aurora, she teased him and it didn't work out. He turned kinda evil... but not really. just more badass. (Which I like) XD but I understand where Rileys coming from.

**Favorite part: **

"Sorry." He replied in a rather arrogant tone of voice and she glared over to him, daring to get in his face.

"How could you be so arrogant and glib after everything I told you? This is your kingdom, you need to protect it!" She shot back and he smirked lightly, getting in _her _face. Their lips quite literally only inches from one another.

"And how could you be so _brave _and _STUPID _to call a vampire _arrogant _and _glib_?" He asked sarcastically and she backed off slightly, keeping her arms crossed over her chest.

"If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead." The beautiful brunette stated firmly, making a very good point.

Drake nodded his head and added in a charming tone of voice, "Yes, you would."

"But I'm not." Victoria grinned in a father victorious way, looking him up and down, thinking that she won.

His smile only grew, and he picked her chin up with his fingers, looking into her beautiful eyes, "**Yet**."

* * *

UNTIL NEXT TIME :)

-Shadowx0


	21. What are words

**AN:** Warning. You are going to hate me, but I have big plans ;) I guess this just means a sequel is coming up after, huh?

* * *

**What are words**

Victoria stared at Drake with a glare and he shrugged his shoulders lightly, walking away from her and towards the windows. He seemed to be in deep concentration and she tilted her head to the side, joining his side immediately. "What is it?"

"There's something not right..." He began and the beauty raised her eyebrows. "It smells like... a lot of blood was-" Aurora jumped through the door quite quickly and Drake's eyes widened, Victoria, however, gasped from fright and her heart started pounding a million miles an hour against her chest, "Do you smell that too?"

"Yes." Aurora stated and he nodded his head. _So I'm not crazy_, he thought with a sigh of relief, "I think we should go check it out Drake... someone could be seriously hurt."

"And I care... _why_?" Drake asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, "The person who's hurt has no affect over my existence. Why the hell should I care?" With this, Aurora grew angry and she placed her hands on her hips.

"Because someone else cares about them, and even if you don't, someone will be at a great loss!" She had a point and Victoria left Drake's side, only to join Aurora's. Drake's eyebrows shot up and his amber eyes fixated on his childhood friend. "See. Even your love agrees."

"SHE'S NOT MY- Ok, this is getting really annoying." Drake growled and leapt on top of the window ledge, "If I go and someone points a wooden bullet gun at me, I'm coming after both of you." Aurora smirked and followed his lead, leaving Victoria's side immediately. The young vampire tilted his head and looked at her for a moment, "I would say guard the house... but..."

"Hilarious." Victoria muttered and walked over to the young vampire's side. "I'm coming with you."

Aurora and Drake exchanged looks and he shook his head. "No. No way, it's way too dangerous out there for you to be-"

"And it's better being in here? Unprotected? What if something comes in here." Victoria did have a point and Aurora nodded her head, agreeing with the young woman...but Drake thought of something as he leaned against the window and smirked.

"Yes, well... Let's talk about that little witchy, juju thing you did with me." The human's eyebrows rose and his smirk only grew, "You know, the fun one where my brain bursts into flames."

"Ok, yes, I can protect myself... but I want to go with you." She stated firmly and once Drake opened his mouth to argue, Aurora opened the window he was leaning on, making him fall out. Victoria gasped and the female vampire laughed as he hit the ground. "W-What did you do that fo-"

"He's fine, Victoria." Aurora stated with a slight giggle, "C'mon. I'll take you down there." The brunette nodded her head and she stood on the windowsill, glancing towards the ground as Aurora picked her up. "Ready?"

"Not really, but go for it." She replied and Aurora smiled warmly as she gracefully jumped from the window, onto to green summer grass. Almost immediately both their eyes went to Drake, who started clapping in a rather sarcastic way.

"That was good." He grinned and Aurora rolled her eyes, "But if you ever do it again... your heart will be across the room."

"We'll see about that." The female vampire challenged and Victoria laughed softly, grinning over to Drake, "I'm stronger than you."

"Really?" The young vampire asked, knowing that drinking human blood made vampires stronger than drinking animal blood, "When was the last time you had something stronger than a bunny?"

"Can we cut the sarcasm, hmm?" Aurora asked and started walking ahead, following the scent of blood. "They're close..." She murmured, "I could sense it..."

"Great..." Drake stated and kept his arm around Victoria, as if to protect her from anything out of the ordinary, "Breakfast."

* * *

"G-Guys... I-I'm loosing..." Ayden began in an extremely weak voice, and Danny and Cole looked over to him with a frown, "A-a lot...of-"

"We know, Ayden, as soon as we find a house, we'll use a phone... unfortunately... our cells don't work out here." Alison stated, patting his head comfortingly, "The shirt should hold the blood until we get to a hospital... I'm sure regular people have one."

Nick nodded his head as he carried a sleeping Shayna in his arms, and he heard Ayden start coughing. This wasn't a good sign, the blond boy was weakened, but with all this blood lost, death was possible. "We need to hurry!" The youngest boy exclaimed as he picked up the pace, "If we don't, we can loose him!"

"Yes, you can." A voice answered, but it wasn't anyone from the group, and this made them all stop. They knew the consequences of being in the normal world, and vampires were apart of that. A young man with light olive skin, straight dark auburn hair, and amber eyes walked out from the shadows, but he was by himself. "Unfortunate for you, you ran into me."

"WAIT!" A familiar voice exclaimed and a girl ran to the young man's side. The beauty had long curly, brunette hair, fair skin and greenish blue eyes... Victoria Morlet.

"V-VICTORIA?" Nick gasped, dropping Shayna on the floor. The pale blonde groaned a little, but didn't bother getting up, she was too weak and she needed food and sleep. "YOU'RE ALIVE! AND... AND SCAR DIDN'T ATTACK YOU!" He ran over to his sister and this made Drake's eyebrows scrunch together. Watching as the teenage boy who had dark brown hair, light blue eyes and fair skin run to Victoria and wrap his arms around her. _Nick?_ He thought, and Victoria smiled as she hugged her little brother. The young vampire's eyes watched as he remembered the others from his group, and he put their small faces to the older ones; but his eyes landed on one person in particular. Cole Archer.

"So who's dying?" Aurora asked as she made her way over to the little group. Drake continued glaring, but the dark haired woman saw a blond boy held by Danny and Cole and she went to his aid immediately. "Who did this?"

"Who are YOU?" Cole asked arrogantly and Drake growled, walking over to Aurora's side, hoping to pick a fight.

"Don't worry about it." He answered for Aurora in a rather acidic tone and the female vampire raised her eyebrows. "You should just be thankful she's here to help your little friend get better COLE." During this confrontation, Aurora had bit into her wrist, giving Ayden the vampire blood he needed to stay alive and heal, but she grew distracted when Drake said a certain name... Cole... The one who gave him the blood.

"Whoa... Dude... How do you know my name?" Cole asked as he placed Ayden on the floor, and Danny walked over to Shayna and Alison with wide eyes, not wanting to get involved.

"Dude? **REALLY**? _Dude_?" Drake asked as he began walking closer to the darker teenager menacingly.

Victoria's eyes widened as she let go of her brother and at the same time, her and Aurora yelled, "DRAKE, DON'T!"

"Oh come on!" The young vampire grinned, looking back at them, "Who's gonna miss this idiot?"

"Wait." Nick started and he went over to Drake with wide, light blue eyes. "Drake? As in... Drake Ashburn?" The young vampire stared down at Nick in silence, but soon after that, he nodded his head and the younger boy's eyes went wider and everyone froze, including Cole. "I-I can't believe it! I-I thought you were dead!"

"Yeah, that's the story." Drake answered with a roll of his eyes and Aurora took her wrist away from the unconscious boy, watching as his leg began healing. "But technically... I _am _dead." Everyone tilted their heads to the side and Nick shook his.

"What are you talking about?" The confused boy probably went through hell today, and once Victoria made it to Drake's side and opened her mouth to explain, the young vampire placed a hand over her mouth gently, smirking over to Cole.

"Why don't you ask your FRIEND over there." Drake said in a rather sarcastic tone of voice, "I'm sure he'd LOVE to explain it." With this, Nick glared over to Cole, crossing his arms over his chest. The two never really have gotten along, and this only topped it all off.

"I'm so lost..." Alison began with a frown and Danny glanced over to her with wide eyes, "So you're dead but you're not?" Drake shot her a charming smile and nodded his head quickly. The girl grew dizzy and giddy because of how extremely good looking he's become, and she started fanning herself. "Well... In this case... I'm glad you aren't dead." The sweet eighteen year old giggled and Victoria shot her a glare. "Whoops... I didn't know you two were a thing."

Drake raised his eyebrows and glanced over to Victoria, who pretended as if she didn't know what they were talking about. "WAIT HOLD ON." Nick started, turning his face away from the silent Cole, "You two are DATING?"

"No." The young vampire growled and rolled his tired eyes before fixating them on Cole, "So... Are you going to tell the story, or do you want me to? I mean... If I tell it, I'll just make you sound even more like a jackass." Cole hung his head and Drake grinned lightly, "Be prepared kid, until the day you die... I'm going to make your life miserable."

"I-..." The darker boy started and Victoria crossed her arms over her chest, then everyone seemed to follow her lead. "I knew Drake was alive." The young vampire smirked lightly and motioned him to continue, "B-Because I gave him the vampire blood... and... he turned."

"Turned?" Nick asked in a confused manner, "Turned into what? A VAMPIRE?" Cole nodded his head and Nick took a step away from Drake... everyone did, including Cole. Victoria went to Drake's side and everyone thought she was crazy. "Vee, get away from him!"

"Nicholas, you are my LITTLE brother, I don't have to listen to you." She stated and Drake grinned over to her, "Besides... He's still the same guy he's always been! Just... a little more _dangerous_..." The beauty repeated exactly what she had told him earlier, and gave Drake a flirty wink, which made his grin only grow, showing everyone his pearly white teeth.

"Ugh, oh God. I'm not going to be an uncle anytime soon, am I?" Nick asked sarcastically and everyone started laughing, aside from Cole, Victoria, Drake and Aurora. The brunette grew embarrassed, but Drake and Aurora exchanged looks, only because they knew he couldn't give her children even if they were together, it wouldn't be safe. _This whole thing is a bad idea, isn't it?_ He thought to himself and frowned deeply."Wow, and no one denies it." Nick said with a grin, "I think I'm psychic."

"I think you're a pain." Victoria groaned and turned her red face away from everyone. Drake glanced over to Cole who's eyes met the ground, a frown permanently implanted on his lips... Half of him felt like Cole wasn't telling the whole truth, but this sudden mood happened when Nick made his comment. The darker boy wants Victoria for himself... and this made Drake grow even more angry. "Maybe we should get Ayden and Shayna inside..."

"What happened to Shayna?" Drake asked with a tilt of his head, as if realizing she were just there. "And how did this happen to Ayden? What the hell did he get himself into?"

"Scar happened to both of them." Nick frowned and the young vampire looked at him with shocked eyes, "Ayden was trying to climb... you know, to get over the sealed gate and Scar stabbed him in the leg with a knife and stated sawing." Victoria and Aurora made a face and winced as they looked down at the unconscious and healed boy. Thanks to Aurora of course. "As for Shayna, we don't know what's wrong... She turned into this... PANTHER LIKE THING! Except... her teeth were long as hell!"

"A werecat?" Aurora asked and everyone looked at her with confused eyes, "S-She's apart of the werecat family... She's a werepanther. Believe me, I've seen a lot of them, except I heard that they're becoming extinct. People want them dead... but it's good to have her on our side."

"Our side?" Cole asked as he moved over to Danny and Alison, away from the vampires, "Since when are YOU on our side? You're a vampire!"

"Cole. Don't give me another reason to want to kill you." Drake growled and the boy smirked, giving him challenging eyes... Stupid move, Drake thought, "What? You don't think I'll do it?" The darker boy shook his head, and Drake took a step forward, only to feel warm hands slide around his arm. Glancing back, he saw that it was Victoria and he gave her questioning eyes.

"Stop it, Drake. If he wants to be an asshole, he can. Aurora is with us whether he likes it or not." The beauty looked over to Cole and glared, "I can't believe you didn't tell me that you knew this entire time. What? Did you think I wouldn't find out that Drake was alive?"

"YOU WERE OBSESSED." Cole yelled, making Alison jump. "YOU THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD... YET YOU WOULDN'T GIVE UP. WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO? TELL YOU THAT MY FUCKING FATHER PLANNED THIS WHOLE THING OUT AND TOLD ME TO GIVE IT TO HIM?" Mouths dropped and Drake was over by Cole in an instant, pinning the boy against a tree.

"Why did he plan this entire thing out, hm?" Drake asked, keeping his hands around the eighteen year old's throat, "Why did you LISTEN?"

"B-BECAUSE I WANTED V-" He started gasping and Drake let go of him slightly, so he could breathe and talk, "I wanted Victoria... and I didn't care who payed the price for it... I wasn't going to do it at first, but she was falling for you even THEN. I didn't know what vampire blood did, for all I knew... It would poison you..." His dark eyes glared at her and Nick joined his sister side, glaring at him, "LOOKS LIKE I CAN'T EVER FUCKING WIN."

"No, you can't." Victoria stated, and Drake swore he saw a tear leave her eye right before she turned around, walking away towards the boarding house. Aurora sighed gently and began walking towards her, but Nick shook his head.

"I wouldn't..." He began and Aurora lifted her eyebrows, "Give her some time to cool off..."

The young vampire let go of Cole and quickly walked after her. Nick went to stop him, as he did to Aurora, but the female vampire grabbed the younger boy's arm and shook her head. "Give them time together... she wants that."

Nick raised his eyebrows and grinned over to her. "You know... you aren't bad." He paused and her eyebrows rose, "For a vampire."

"And for a human..." The dark haired vampire began with a slight sigh, then a small smile played across her lips, "You aren't bad either."

* * *

"Victoria!" Drake called after her, watching as she shook her head, not wanting to be bothered. He stopped in his tracks for a moment and sighed, just before using his supernatural speed to run over to her. The young vampire grabbed her arms and looked into her puffy eyes, which seemed to be looking every which way besides at the one person she shouldn't hide from, "Hey, look at me..." She shook her head and he grabbed each side of her face, making her eyes look right into his, "Why are you crying?"

"B-Because." Victoria began and placed her hands on his, removing them from her face, "I-I feel like this all happened because of me! I-I feel like I betrayed you because I went out with him... Seriously, Drake... I didn't know he was the key to this all-"

"Victoria." Drake sighed lightly and her light eyes focused on the floor, "You didn't betray me... Hell, you've never even forgot about me." His fingers touched the little ring that continuously hung around her neck, "You aren't the cause of this... besides..." He allowed a tiny smirk to play across his lips, and with that, she looked up feeling confused, "Would you rather me be completely dead? At least now you get to see me, and you know I'm alive and I'm ok..."

The beauty wouldn't even crack a smile, and the sadness in her eyes truly started to get to him. His smirk even faded and the vampire sighed heavily, "That sounds like a goodbye, Drake..." Victoria began and Drake's eyebrows scrunched together, "You're acting as if we'll never see each other again." _In a way, she's right._ He thought with a slight frown, but the tears that flooded from her beautiful eyes made his heart crack in half. "I... I don't think I can be apart from you anymore..."

"Yes, you can..." Drake frowned and she started shaking her head over and over, "Vee, you're human... one STRONG human. I'm a vampire... It can't work-"

"THEN TURN ME." She exclaimed, grabbing his hands. The half vampire shook his head, "Why? This is what I want! Turn me!"

"This isn't what you want, Vee!" Drake growled, "This isn't what anyone wants! You're going to want to grow old... have children... I- I can't do that for you... I can't-"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT ALL OF THAT!" Victoria cried, with simple shakes of her head. "Drake, it killed me when I thought you died... EVERY TIME I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU... I CRIED... AND I CRIED UNTIL MY EYES WENT DRY..." The young vampire glared down at the ground, mainly because he had forgotten about his human life, but that never meant he didn't care about her, of loved her... and he decided that he was going to be the first to admit it... even if she isn't able to return the feelings. "I can't do this again! Yes, I am strong... but even the most strongest of people have weak points. YOU are my weak point." With this, Drake knew it was time, he lifted his eyes from the ground, staring right into hers, holding her gaze, ready to compel her. She must have felt something, but was unable to look away, "W-What are you doing?" She asked and he frowned deeply, continuing to gaze into her unblinking eyes.

_Aurora looked at him with a warning expression, "Just remember not to make such selfish decisions when you're more on your own, I can't tell you what's right and what's wrong when you are of age, Drake... But you'll know and understand when your being selfish, and when that happens, I want you to stop it..."_

Then he remembered exactly what Aurora had told him earlier this morning, _"Annabelle was able to get any man she wanted, she was beautiful and charming and elegant, but behind closed doors... she was a true bitch. She stayed human though... **William didn't want to turn her,** he said that he loved her so much that he didn't want this for her... you know... the undead... immortal life. She said she wanted it if she could be with him forever, and she would do anything in her power to get it, but he over ruled her."_

"You just need to hear what I have to say." He began in a broken voice and she stared at him with her eyebrows scrunched together, "Because it's probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life... " He paused for a moment and she continued to stare blankly into his eyes, unable to move, "I love you, Victoria... and it's because I love you that... I can't be selfish with you." His entire body felt weak... this was the woman he loved, the one he wished he could turn, but like William... he needed to let her go. "I don't deserve you... and you don't deserve this life. Your life should be long and happy... You should grow old with the man you marry and watch as your children grow with you. Victoria I can't give you that... and even if you say you don't want it... I know that you're lying." She continued to gaze ahead unblinkingly and he stared into her eyes lovingly, but stepped forward giving her a warm kiss on her forehead with his wet eyes closed. As he stepped back, the vampire reopened his eyes, "God, I wish you didn't have to forget this..." A small tear rolled from his amber eye and she watched in amazement, "But you do. Your heart is free of me, you only think of me as your best friend..." He paused and his voice broke when he added, "Nothing more."

With that, Victoria blinked and glanced around seeing nothing but the darkness from the outside, while scanning the area, she grew slightly confused as to what just happened. One moment, she was pissed off at Cole, the next moment she ended up here and couldn't think clearly. The rest of the gang, aside from Drake and Aurora, ran towards her, even Ayden was up and running, but Shayna was still in Danny's arms. "Hey, are you alright?" Alison asked running over to her and she nodded her head.

"I'm... perfectly fine, actually." She stated with a tilt of her head. Why was she fine? This isn't right. "Where did Drake and Aurora go?"

"I thought Drake was with you." Nick frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest, "What? He just left you out here?" Victoria shrugged and looked towards the boarding house.

"It's not a big deal... I've been staying here anyway." She replied, looking rather nonchalant, "Maybe they went back. C'mon, I'll show you guys around the place. It's huge! You'll like it."

"W-What about getting help?" Alison asked and Victoria motioned towards the house, "Right... Drake can help us... but will he go back? I mean, with his condition and all..."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine." Victoria rolled her eyes and began walking towards the gigantic house, "There are plenty of rooms, we can each find one and sleep there until we convince prince charming over there to go back to the castle and take back what's rightfully his."

The gang all glanced at one another, there was something off about the brunette, but she turned around and looked at them with her eyebrows raised, "Well? Are you guys coming? Or are we going to sit here looking all pouty?"

"Of course not..." Ayden stated, "Let's go... Besides, I want to see Drake for myself. I haven't seen him since he was a kid."

* * *

"YOU COMPELLED HER?" Aurora exclaimed with little shakes of her head, "WHY? I thought you were both going to like... get married. I thought she was the one you loved!"

Drake leaned against the wall as he sat on his bed, tears still filling up in his eyes. "I did what I had to do, Aurora." He stated and she shook her head, "You're the one who told me not to be selfish, you told me about what William did for love. If I turned her, I'd be worse than him!"

"No, if you turned her, you'd know what it's like to have love. William is incapable of LOVE, the only one he ever showed it to was Annabelle, but she's dead, and I'm on the run because of him." The female frowned, "You shouldn't have done it."

"I needed to, whether you believe it or not." He replied with a sigh, "She need's a life... since that's something I can't give her, I'm not willing to keep her all to myself, when she could have someone amazing sweep her off her damn feet... Aurora, please... understand this..." Drake frowned and more tears rolled down his cheek, "I-I had to let her go... I just wish someone could compel me."

* * *

**AN: **They haven't kissed... He compelled her to forget that she loved him, the only thing they are, are best friends.** [Slaps Drake]** ): This make me incredibly sad and I didn't want to write it, but it fits into the ending so well, and I've talked to some people and they all want a sequel. If I wasn't writing a sequel, I would have made it a Drake and Victoria ending right away :) I guess we'll see what happensssss.

Cole Archer: I still don't like him, but maybe he'll change. Ayden is thankfully ok, Shayna... We still don't know if she'll be alright, but we now know that she is a shapeshifter werepanther ;) That is so wicked like... I wish I was a werepanther LMAO xD Nick's reaction to everything... is priceless, I love that kid.

PROPS TO The Rogue Lion for giving me the idea to use this line for Nick: I'm not going to be an uncle anytime soon, am I?

I like when Drake fell out the window XD and when he realized who Cole was, and Cole was all :DUDE HOW DO YOU KNOW ME?"

And Drake was all "Dude? Really? DUDE?" And Victoria and Aurora were like "Drake no!" And he goes, "Oh come on! Who's gonna miss this idiot?" **XD**

Aurora wants Drake and Victoria together... but we'll see... Was it just me or _was Nick and Aurora flirting?_ ;) hmmmmm. XDDD Guess we'll see where that goes.


	22. Know thy enemy

**Know thy enemy**

Riley and Evan walked down the stairs after getting ready to go on a nice hunt and get paid. Riley was first to emerge from the stairs and his beady eyes fixated on a group of teenagers, rummaging through the refrigerator, cabinets, and a girl was cooking by the stove. He observed the one girl from last night, the one that Drake seemed to be head over heels over. "Uh..." The redhead began and all eyes went to him, "You guys aren't all... vampires are ya?"

"No, silly!" A sweet looking girl who was short in height, chestnut brown hair, and light olive skin spoke up as she flipped some pancakes. "Pancake?" She offered and Riley shook his head, still staring at everyone, "By the way! I'm Alison, and this is Ayden, Nick, Danny, Cole and Victoria," She pointed to each person and Riley nodded, his eyebrows still raised, "But I bet you already knew _her_."

"Wheres Drake and Aurora?" He asked, and Evan finally joined him, looking just as confused as his friend.

"Still asleep." Alison stated with a smile, "Along with our friend Shayna, but don't worry, we'll be out of your hair soon, we just need to get Drake to agree to go with us."

"Go with you?" Evan asked, as he walked over to the table, picking up a bagel and taking a bite out of this, "This bagel is AWESOME."

Alison nodded her head and placed the pancake on a plate, "Yes, we're from the Kingdom of Ashburn, I'm sure you've heard of that. The king sleeps upstairs!"

Evan choked on the food and Riley's eyes widened, "W-What did you just say?" They almost couldn't believe their ears. What was Drake not telling them? They had royalty upstairs the entire time, and never realized it?

"Drake... You know, he was a prince... now he's the king. His father died, and we thought he died, but really he ran away from the kingdom because well... Vampires aren't allowed in the kingdom, but we need him back because his uncle is deranged." She paused and sighed gently, "So, if you could help us make him go, that would be much appreciated." Evan and Riley looked at one another with wide eyes, the two best friends couldn't believe that Drake kept such a secret away from them. "Where are you two goin'? Hunting or something?"

"Y-Yeah, it's kind of ... our jobs." Riley began and headed towards the door without taking any food, "Uh, Evan... We should... Get going."

"Right." Evan nodded, as he finished up his breakfast quickly and followed Riley towards the door. Before leaving, they exchanged glances and went out the door, leaving the teenagers to devourer their meal as they soaked in the new news that was placed upon them so suddenly.

Nick stared at the door for a moment before Alison placed the plate of pancakes on the table and watched as everyone started to dig in, "So, I meant to ask this last night..." The youngest boy began and everyone made some type of noise to tell him they were listening, "But what the hell is HE still doing here?" Nick pointed over to Cole who began eating the pancakes quickly and he froze, staring at the youngest boy with wide eyes, "Seriously, you killed my sisters best friend."

Cole chewed and swallowed his food before speaking back to Nick, "I didn't KILL him, and Nick seriously, I was a jealous little kid. I didn't say I was right in what I did, but I can't take it back, can I?" He paused and took a sip of his orange juice, "Besides..." He stated while placing the cup back on the table, "Drake's alright, isn't he? I didn't ruin anything. He has immortality, he could have been actually DEAD but he's not..." With a tiny gesture, Cole motioned towards Victoria, "He has the love of his life."

With this, the young brunette began choking and Nick patted her back with wide blue eyes, "E-Excuse me?"

"Oh, please, Vee..." Alison giggled as she sat down in an empty chair, her hand grabbing a pancake and placing it in her plate, "We see the way you look at him... When I made a comment about how incredibly good looking he was you glared at me!"

"Alison... I don't like Drake like that, he's my best friend." Victoria stated boldly and everyone raised their eyebrows, "What? He is! I don't have feelings for my best friend, that's just weird..."

"Do you think we were born yesterday?" Nick asked and Ayden shook his head with a giant grin, "Quit denying it, we all know the truth, Vee. What are you afraid of?"

"Nothing!" She exclaimed and shook her head, "Why do you think I like him? I didn't do a thing that told you this. I just found him for the first time yesterday night, why would I throw myself at someone I just practically met again? He's just my best friend, the same way he's always been, nothing more." She paused and her perfect eyebrows raised, "Now. Can you pass the strawberries?" Ayden sighed heavily and grabbed the bowl of strawberries, handing it over to the beauty. Victoria grabbed them and placed them on top of her pancakes with a rather blank expression, and he knew there was something off about the brunette, he just couldn't pick it out.

* * *

"Riley..." Evan began as the two twenty six year old men walked through the brightly lit forest, waiting for an animal to pass by them, or even waiting to find one. "Why would Drake lie to us about this?"

"Technically, he never lied to us, he just never _TOLD _us." Riley stated while keeping his shot gun close, "He never_ 'wanted to talk about it'_." The redhead glanced over to his best friend who shook his head and frowned deeply. "I wonder what else he ain't tellin' us."

"Do we want to know?" Evan asked while keeping behind, "The only thing I really know is that he's a half vampire... and that he's one of the good ones. When I asked who the bad one's are, both him and his little vampire girlfriend ignored me!"

Riley wagged his finger over to his friend, as if he were deep in thought before Evan brought up anything about Aurora Jameson, "You know... She's another one who's all secretive. We know nothing about her, other than she's a damn vampire who was helping Drake control himself... Then that epically failed, and yet, she's still here."

"W-Well what's wrong with us?" Evan asked with wide, dark brown eyes, "We should know background on someone before letting them stay here! Could you imagine if the police caught us keeping royalty? If people have been looking for him for a long time, we could have been charged as kidnappers!"

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA... HE'S THE ONE THAT CAME WITH US... WE HAD NO CLUE!" Riley exclaimed, waving his hands back and forth, "If anything, HE should get into trouble or something... Besides, I doubt the police even know... They said something about a kingdom? There's no kingdoms here!" There was silence between the two and Evan stopped dead in his tracks, "W-What?"

"Say... Riley, you don't think it's a magical kingdom, do yah?" The bigger man asked and Riley raised his eyebrows, "I mean... Stranger things have happened! We didn't know vampires existed until now... What if there's more myths that are actually true? AND D-DRAKES THE KING OF IT ALL?"

"Evan, that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard... Magical king-" Riley paused and snapped his fingers, the little man's entire face lighting up. "Wait! I got it... WHAT IF DRAKES APART OF A MAGICAL KINGDOM? Think about it, there's no kingdoms around here, but the reason we never found it was because it's hidden to the normal eye!"

"Yeah!" Evan grinned, then thought about what his friend just said and grew angry, "HEY! THAT'S WHAT I-"

"And we need to get down to the bottom of it, Evan. We will make Drake tells us the truth and nothin' but!" Riley pounded his hand into his fist, "Right after this... it's time for an interrogation!"

* * *

Waking up was something Drake did not have in mind of doing. As he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around himself, his amber eyes glanced over to the clock that hung on the wall. _Ten thirty in the morning? _He thought and quickly looked away and into the mirror, where again, he only saw a blurry reflection. Half of him wondered if the reflection was more clearly when he assumed that he and Victoria were going to be together... It was like he found himself... his humanity through Victoria, but all of that happiness was taken within a night.

The thought of going downstairs and seeing the brunette beauty just acting like they were only best friends, and nothing more, was too hard to take, but, he did it to himself. The intention of it all was to make the pain go away. He knew that he wasn't going back to the kingdom, but she was... As long as she feels that they are best friends, she wont hurt anymore, and she could come and visit anytime she wanted to, but they couldn't ever be together. It just wasn't happening, he had no future, the only thing he needed to do is exist. A vampire shouldn't have love, like he said before, love is an emotion specific to those who care... Caring is something he wasn't willing to do.

"I guess it's time to turn the emotion off again." He said to the blurry image in the mirror, and once he pulled his clothes on, and perfectly styled his hair, the young vampire stepped out of the bathroom and shot down the stairs quickly, hoping to avoid as many eyes as possible.

"Drake!" Alison exclaimed, jumping to her feet and Drake stopped in his tracks, looking her over. She was wearing an apron and she had cooking batter on her face. "Come on! Come join us, we have so much to talk over with you." His eyes flashed over to the brunette who was sitting next to Nick and Danny, she smiled over to him and his heart broke again, so he decided to just shake his head. "No? WHY? C'mon, Drake we really need to-"

"I can't believe it." A blond boy grinned and got up from his seat, walking over to the young vampire with amazement, "And I thought they were all lying to me."

"Ayden." Drake grinned and shook his head, "Nope, they weren't lying... BUT, I have to go catch a bite to eat..." He saw Alison point towards the food and he gave her a look, "Not that kind of food."

"OH, right!" She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm so sorry! I-I totally forgot..."

The young vampire smirked over to her, giving her a rather innocent look, which made the sweet eighteen year old slightly melt, "It's ok... I forgive you." She started giggling slightly and her light olive face grew red. Drake's grin grew and he headed towards the door, only to be stopped by Victoria. _Great_, he thought and raised his eyebrows at her as he reached for the door knob, "Can I help you?" He asked in a rather naive way and she grinned.

"Yes, you can." The beauty admitted, "You need to help us with the kingdom. YOU need to be king, Drake... and you need to fix all of this!" She paused slightly and everyone now looked at Drake with giant smiles, "As your friends... We'll help you." _FRIENDS_, he thought and rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. Cut the attitude."

"Sorry, but I think we had a discussion about this earlier. I'm not going back." He stated and she opened her mouth to argue, "I'm not accepted there, Victoria, I'm a _vampire_. They hate me. The moment I step foot in there, they'll all go to Scar's side and I'll get killed, but hey, if that's what you want, then sure. It'll be a suicide mission."

"That isn't what I want." Victoria glared and crossed her arms over her chest, "I never said it would be easy to take the throne, I only said that you need to take it back! We'll be behind you one hundred percent and fight till the end!"

"I can't get in, an Ashburn needs to invite me." He lied, the young vampire knew that he didn't need an Ashburn to invite him in, mainly because he was the key to it all being opened forever... without any invitation, but he wasn't about to tell anyone that. Hell, they didn't even know he had a doppelganger, evil twin running around... Although, he has never even seen him, what is he waiting for?

"So then we go and get your mom!" Victoria exclaimed and he glared down at her, "You need to do this, Drake! Quit being so selfish, this isn't about YOU anymore, it's about the damn kingdom!"

"SELFISH?" He asked and everyone, aside from Cole, immediately looked away from them, including Nick, who normally got involved in his sisters fights, "You have no idea what I had to even go through." How dare she even call him selfish, after everything he did last night so that she could live a happy life, she calls HIM selfish.

"Don't worry, Vee." Cole spoke up and both of their heads turned, "If you need someone to fight, I'll be willing to do it."

Victoria smiled over to Cole and nodded her head, Drake, however, growled and glared down at the idiot, ready to pounce. "Oh, Drake, calm yourself, will you?" A voice approached his ears, and he turned his head only to see Aurora walking over to the kitchen and towards the door, "If anyone should be angry, it should be me... you took forever in the shower this morning."

"Sorry." He grinned over to his mentor and friend, but quickly Victoria smirked and remained in front of the door.

"So, Aurora, don't you think Drake should go back to the kingdom and take back what's rightfully his?" She asked and Aurora nodded her head, "Thank you. See, one of you vampire's have sense."

"Victoria." Drake growled and Aurora raised her eyebrows, "If you don't move, I will personally remove you away from this door. So, unless you want your throat torn out..." He motioned his head to the side and her eyes widened, "Get."

"F-Fine, but please... think about it." She replied hesitantly, and moved to the empty space that just so happened to be next to Cole. He hated when she pleaded with him, especially when he wanted to hate her. With a simple roll of his eyes, the young vampire opened the door and using his inhumanly fast speed, he was in the forest in no time, followed by Aurora.

"I still can't believe you let her go." Aurora frowned and walked around the forest, on the search for animals. "Besides, why are you hunting in the forest?" With this, her eyes lit up and a grin spread across her lips, "Are you going to adopt to the animal diet?"

"Sorry, no. I enjoy my food without fur or feathers." He stated sarcastically, though her smile never faded, she shook her head in disappointment, "I'll find a jogger, or someone who's planning to go exploring in the woods. Everyone seems to do that."

"Alright, well, I'm going to leave you then, I have to find my own food." She replied and tilted her head to the side, "You going to be ok?" and once he nodded, the female frowned, knowing that he was probably turning his emotion off again and disappeared behind a collage of trees. Sighing heavily, the young vampire walked around at a human pace, hoping to stay out there all day... He didn't want to go back in the boarding house and face _her _again.

* * *

Asaka walked through the castle of the kingdom, keeping a protective charm over the three adults who remained alive still. "I don't understand!" Isabelle yelled, frowning deeply, "Where are our children and why can't we leave? ARE THEY OK?"

"De children are fine." Asaka replied softly with a promising nod, "A revolution is coming." This made the three adults exchange looks, mainly because they were so lost with what was going on, "Your daughta has left de kingdom on her birthday to go and find help... I saw a vision." The psychic woman left out whom exactly she was going to find, mainly because she wasn't sure if he would even come back.

"W-Who is she getting?" Isabelle asked and Elizabeth frowned deeply. "Liz- what's wrong?"

"It's just... weird. To find someone who isn't an Ashburn to take the throne... It hurts to think about." The older woman stated in a rather weak voice, "James must be rolling in his grave."

Isabelle, Opal, and Asaka all shook their heads, which caused Elizabeth to become confused, "He's probably rolling in his grave because of what Scar had done to this place." Opal answered the confused woman's silent question. "Honestly, Scar used witches and warlocks around the kingdom as his SLAVE, he used the women for sex and that's exactly what he wants from Victoria." Isabelle's eyes widened and Opal nodded, "Do you not see the way he looks at your daughter?"

"I agree wit Opal, Isabelle." Asaka said quietly, "But if dey return wit noting in hand... I must go and convince him myself." This made all three of the adults confused, and Elizabeth got up from her seat, joining the psychic's side.

"I'm sorry but..." She began with a small tilt of her head, "Who must you go and convince?" The only thing Asaka did was smile as her black eyes stared into Elizabeth's amber ones. Scar was going to get exactly what he deserves.

* * *

The sun had gone down and Victoria waited patiently for her best friend to come back, the others were less patient and kept interrogating Aurora every time she passed by, "Where the hell IS he?" Nick asked out of frustration, "I don't really want to go home but I want to know if he'll HELP us!"

"He..." Aurora began and then simply shrugged, finding herself lost for words, "I don't know what he's doing."

"Maybe that's something you should find out, huh vampire girl?" Cole asked in a rather cynical way, the female vampire growled and watched as Victoria nudged for the human to stop talking. Oh no no no, this will not do. Aurora thought with a roll of her eyes and with inhumanly fast speed, she was next to Cole in a heartbeat, grasping his throat.

"Aurora!" Victoria frowned and jumped to her feet, "Stop it! What's wrong with you?" The female ignored Victoria and everyone got to their feet, wide eyes taking over their features.

"Do you want another enemy, kid?" Aurora asked, referring to how Drake already hates him, "Not only will Drake make YOUR life miserable, but I will too... If you talk back to be again or make another stupid comment, your ass is out on the street with all the other little vampires out there to share you." He started shaking and squirming in her grasp. Aurora's eyes observed his face for a moment, a bitter smile pulling across her lips, "Now. Do I make myself clear?"

"C-Crystal." He struggled to say, but she still heard it, so with that, the female vampire let go of him and walked over to the door, hearing her heels cling against the wood. The human started panting and everyone stared at him and Aurora with the same gigantic eyes, not to mention, the awkward silence that happened along with it.

"DAMN." Nick finally spoke up and everyone, including Aurora turned to look at him, "I KNEW I LIKED THIS CHICK FOR A REASON!" The youngest boy jumped to his feet and walked over to Aurora with his hand in the air, "HIGH FIVE IT BABY!" The female vampire grinned and gently hit the human's hand, but turned her head again and continued peering out the window. "Cole got SCHOOLED."

"Yeah, yeah..." He muttered and Victoria patted his arm with a small frown. "Why are you being so nice to me?" He asked her and the beauty simply shrugged her shoulders. "I thought you hated me."

"I don't hate anyone, aside from Scar... and I'm not sure, I just got over our stupid fight." Victoria stated softly, "Yes, what you did was wrong... but I happen to see the beauty inside of people... The only one who doesn't have beauty is Scar... He's pure evil."

_And William_, Aurora thought, but kept that to herself. She wasn't sure exactly how much Drake had told little Victoria here, but soon a figure approached the door, and Aurora perked up a bit, smiling out the window and opening the door for the figure. "Drake! You're back! Jeeze, where the hell did you go? China?"

"Can't find it." He kept repeating as he walked through the door. Aurora raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to ask what he was talking about, but he continued talking, "I can't fucking find it."

Everyone exchanged looks and Aurora went over to his side, watching as he rummaged through the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of Bourbon and drinking it straight from the bottle, "D-Drake!" Aurora exclaimed, trying to grab it away from him, but he turned his body, walking towards the table, where he pushed Cole out of his seat and sat there instead. Nick let out a chuckle and Victoria grew angry.

"DRAKE WHAT THE HELL?" She asked and helped Cole up. The beauty moved over, motioning for Cole to sit there, but instead he walked away, into a different room, causing Victoria to frown. "Seriously, what is your PROBLEM?"

"You all being here." He stated while taking another swig of alcohol and Aurora froze immediately, "You're all my problem. NOW, what did you want to speak with me about again?" An angered Victoria opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off quite quickly, "Oh right, you wanted me to go back to the kingdom and take back what's rightfully mine. You've all definitely lost it."

"We lost it?" Victoria asked bluntly as her light eyes looked him up and down, "I think you should look in a mirror, that way you can see who the real lunatic is!" His amber eyes looked up at her and he placed the bottle down on the table. Others around them were tempted to grab it, but they were afraid that Drake's reflexes would catch them, and he would probably end up doing something stupid.

"That's my problem..." He grinned over to his friend, "I can't find it!"

Victoria's eyebrows scrunched together and he started drunkenly laughing, "Can't find what?"

"M-My reflection!" He stated loudly with another giant grin plastered across his face, "Can't find my reflection!" His pale hands grabbed a hold of the bottle and started chugging. Aurora checked his eyes when they were open, just to make sure it wasn't William who had walked in, but it was Drake. The dark eyes said it all. "It went POOF!"

"Is this some stupid vampire thing?" Victoria asked, thinking about how vampires can't see their reflections in mirrors but Aurora shook her head.

"No, that's a myth. Vampires can see themselves in mirrors." She grinned, but that was soon gone when her vision fixated back to a distressed Drake, "You my friend, need to... stop drinking that, for one."

"Drake, c'mon now... Come back down to earth, I really need to speak with you. This is very important." Victoria tried, and his amber eyes glanced over to her for a moment, then he shrugged and continued drinking, "DRAKE, PUT IT DOWN!"

"Damn, Drake, I never took you for an alcoholic." Danny stated with a grin, "Mind if I have a drink?"

The drunk vampire handed the bottle to Danny, who began chugging it, only to find Shayna staring at him. "What the hell are you drinking?" She asked and he almost dropped the bottle.

"Y-You're alive!" He exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her body and the pale blond girl hugged him back, but looked at everyone else and frowned deeply. "I can't believe you're a werepanther! Shayna, that is the coolest thing ever! Why didn't you tell us before?"

The blond girl shrugged her shoulders and smiled warmly over to her friends, "I-I don't know. I was always embarrassed about it."

"You shouldn't be." Danny stated and handed the bottle back over to Drake, who gladly took it and began chugging again.

"DRAKE." Victoria yelled and grabbed the bottle from him. Everyone's eyes went to them and he stood up, glaring down at her. "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH NOW... ARE YOU COMING BACK WITH US OR NO?"

He continued to glare down at the beauty and a gentle smirk pulled across his lips, "Go find someone else who cares. I for one, don't give a shit about your stupid kingdom." Victoria looked as if she were slapped in the face, and she turned and looked at everyone with a rather hurt expression.

"You heard him." She said with a slight frown and Aurora's eyes met the ground, deciding not to look up, "He doesn't WANT to go back, he doesn't CARE." Drake nodded and grabbed his bottle of Bourbon, lifting it as if to say cheers, before exiting the room. Aurora only knew how he felt, and if Victoria wasn't compelled, she would have as well. "C'mon... We're leaving."

Nick's eyes were on Aurora and he frowned, "So soon?" He asked and the female vampire looked over to him. "So... can I like... come visit you whenever I want?"

Aurora grinned and nodded her head, "Door's always open..." Her dark eyes flashed over to the brunette and she sighed slightly, hoping to make her a little happier, "Victoria, you can visit whenever you want too... I know that you and Drake are best of fri-"

"No." She stated boldly and everyone's eyes widened, "This life... ended everything that was good about him...THERE IS _NOTHING _GOOD ABOUT HIM, not anymore. I remember how he told me about what he was and how he got that way, he also told me all about turning off all emotions." She paused and sniffled due to tears welling up in her beautiful eyes, "He's decided what he wants. He doesn't want to feel... he wants to be hated. It's just EASIER that way. Well, in the end... I guess he got his wish." The brunette nodded her head and Nick went to her side immediately, "I hate him, Aurora!"

Drake leaned against the wall in the next room, frowning deeply. He did get his wish... He couldn't go on seeing her and not wanting more, and he couldn't risk her falling in love with him all over again, he had to make her hate him. "C'mon, Vee..." Ayden's voice whispered softly, "Let's go home... We can take down Scar ourselves, I know we can." She must have nodded, mainly because everyone started getting up from their chairs. A tear escaped from Drake's eyes and he got up from the wall and began walking up to his room, but from the corner of his eyes, he caught Cole watching him.

"The hell do you want?" He asked with a growl and Cole shook his head.

"W-Why did you do it?" Cole was extremely confused and Drake wanted it to be kept that way, "Why did you make her hate you... You love her, I can see it in your eyes..." The boy's dark eyes observed his face and his eyebrows shot up, "I-Is that a tear?"

"I would compel you to forget..." Drake started talking softly and Cole frowned, "But you're already fantastic at keeping secrets to yourself, I'm not too worried about it." And once he began walking up the stairs, he turned and looked back at the darker boy, "Just to be safe..." His eyes held Cole's and he smirked lightly, "Don't tell anyone what you saw tonight." He didn't want any excuses of Victoria coming back to get him, it was just easier this way. "Have a safe trip back." And once Cole blinked, the vampire was gone.

"Cole?" Aurora asked and the human shook his head, looking over to the female, "You're friends already left... What are you still doing here?"

"Oh, I-I don't know..." He knew what he saw, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Half of him supposed that Drake wanted him to live with the guilt of how pain stricken his face was when he heard Victoria talking about him. "I'm gonna get going too... Erm... Bye Aurora." The female vampire waved him off and watched as he ran from the house, following his friends towards the castle. She glared at the stairs and walked up them, not bothering to even knock on the trap door, instead, she barged right in.

"DRAKE, ARE YOU ST-" He was gone. The window was open and the curtains were flying due to the wind. The female frowned deeply and sat down on his bed, looking around the gigantic room. _He ruined his life..._ She thought and a little tear escaped from her dark eyes; she had never seen someone so sure that they hated another person, and what she had just told Cole earlier, she doesn't hate anyone aside from that Scar character... Now Drake, her childhood best friend and supposed to be lover, is up there right next to him.

* * *

While lying down on the dry, dark road, Drake's body remained quite still and once he saw headlights approach him, he smirked to himself, and heard the car pull over and stop. Heels hit the ground, so he assumed that it was a woman, and by the sounds of it, she was very nervous. The young vampire started making noises, as if he had gotten hurt and the woman had long strawberry blond hair, with thick bangs that laid across her forehead. Her teeth were buck and Drake mentally looked disappointed by the looks of her. "S-Sir... What happened?" She exclaimed, pulling out her phone, but kept her distance.

Drake was silent for a few minutes, moving around in certain ways to make him look like he was in pain, "I'm... lost." He stated and her eyebrows scrunched together.

"And you're laying in the middle of the road?" She asked in a rather confused and hesitant manner.

The young vampire rolled his head so that he was looking up at the pitch black sky. He noticed that not one star was in it, "Not that kind of lost." His voice was wry and he sat up quite quickly, looking ahead, "Metaphorically..." He turned his head towards her slowly, giving her a rather sinister look, "Existentially."

"D-Do you need help?" She asked in a rather sweet tone of voice, though, she was still cautious.

"Well..." Drake began and grabbed the flask that was in his room _(and was now filled with Bourbon) _from his leather jacket. "Yes, I do." His voice sounded satirical, and his pale hands popped the lid open, "Can you HELP me." The ending didn't sound like a question, in fact, he sounded as if he didn't need help, he only sounded like he wanted something.

The female backed off a little and pointed out the obvious, "You're drunk."

Drake took a drink from the flask and looked over to her with his eyebrows raised, "No. Well, yes. A little... maybe." The girl shakes her head and hurriedly starts back to her car, "No, please don't leave! I really do need help!" The young vampire notices how she wont stop walking back to her car and he rolls his eyes._ Like that'll save you_, he thought, and got to his feet quickly, ending up in front of her in an instant. His amber eyes lock into her own and he compels the woman, "Don't move."

"I-I don't want any trouble!" She exclaims, her eyes wide, although she couldn't move, so he decided it was safe to let go of her.

"Neither do I!" He admitted, but tilted his head to the side, "But all I got is trouble."

Her dark eyes glanced to the floor and back up to his face, "W-Why can't I move?"

The vampire rolled his eyes and took another drink of his flask, and after realizing it was empty, he shoved it back in his leather jacket, "What's your name?"

The female, with the hideous hair and teeth felt herself shaking, but she couldn't move from her spot, "M-Margret."

"Margret... Pretty name." He grinned and looked around her, "You wouldn't by any chance have any alcohol on you? A sweet girl like you? Eh..." He shrugged, "Probably not."

"A-Are you going to hurt me?" Drake wanted to laugh. Her voice sounded so pathetic, but if this were Victoria, and someone else had done this to her, he wouldn't have been laughing. In fact, he would have been a raging lunatic.

"I'm not sure." He admitted softly and her eyes widened. The vampire grasped her arms with his hands and smirked lightly, "Because you're my **existential **crisis." He tilted his head to one side slightly and she began hyperventilating, "Do I kill you? Do I not kill you?"

"Please don't-" She exclaimed with little shakes of her head, "I-I DON'T WANNA DIE! PLEASE!"

"But I have to, Margret. Because I'm not human... I can't feel like they do, I can't be what SHE wants me to be... She hates me." The girl obviously didn't know what he was talking about, but Drake wasn't off the edge completely yet. "I had to let HER go, Margret, but you... you can stay right here..."

"PLEASE DON'T!" She cried and he looked in her eyes, unable to feel anything, but he thought that a nice game of chase would be fun and it would get his mind off of everything. "PLEASE!"

"Okay..." He stated, while holding her gaze, watching as she was unable to blink, "You're free to go." The woman hurriedly, moved from her spot and speed walked towards her car, it was only obvious that she wanted to get the hell out of here. As soon as her hand touched the handle, Drake was over by her in a second, his fangs extended.

"I THOUGHT YOU WEREN'T GOING TO HURT ME?" She exclaimed he simply shrugged his shoulders, a small smirk approaching his lips.

"I lied." Drake's voice was light, and once he went to strike the girl, fruit came crashing into him, smacking him right in the face, leaving a bruise. "WHAT THE-" He stood back and decided that whoever threw that, was dead. He glanced at the girl, compelling her again, "Forget what you saw here, go home." With that the vampire disappeared into the forest, hearing the car start, and speed off in the opposite direction.

The young vampire tilted his head to the side when he saw a darker woman, with dreadlocks, and dark eyes. The dress she wore was quite filthy and he tilted his head to the side, "Wow, where did you come from? A circus?"

The female grinned lightly and started towards him. Drake raised his eyebrows and she stood in front of him, completely unafraid, "I come from de place dat you were born, young Drake."

* * *

**AN**: Asaka? I think so ;) Well, she got there quite fast, BUT she is psychic, so she knew it was coming. She even told Elizabeth and all of them that it was her duty to go if Victoria shall fail.

**Favorite line:** "You're drunk." Drake: "No, well, yes... a little, maybe." XD

**Favorite line from Victoria:** When she told them how much she hated Drake.

I honestly hated writing that part, it made me sad, but it fits in good... BECAUSE... hate is the beginning of most love stories, and it doesn't surprise me that the last line Victoria said was "_I hate him, Aurora_." Drake obviously did this because he couldn't risk the compulsion keeping her off of him, best friends could fall for one another again, so how is he going to fix this? Will he fix this? Can he just compel her to feel the way she used to again? I don't really think it works like that... and the question is, he's built all of this up, would he just throw all of that away? I don't think so; Drake = stubborn. I know what's going to happen ;) You'll all just have to wait and see.

Cole saw the hurt in his eyes and he knows how much he loves Victoria, but he's compelled to keep his lips shut about that, he can't say anything, but maybe... just maybe... he can write it. HMMMMMMMMMMMM. No I'm just kidding, but hey, it could happen. Knowing Cole, he'd find a way around it and tell Victoria.

Riley and Evan are so lost, but they'll be finding out very soon.

Drake and Margret. Muahahaa (I stole that scene from the vampire diaries) I just absolutely loved it and it fit in really well. He always spills his feelings to people he doesn't know XDDD Anyway... Until next time.

-Shadowww.


	23. Remember the name

**Remember the name**

The vampire stared at the woman with cautious eyes, yet, he stayed his ground, unable to move away. "Who..." He started saying and almost found himself speechless. The next question he was about to ask, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know, "Who ARE you?"

"Ah!" She breathed, walking over to him rather quickly, her broad smile taking up half her face, "De question is... Who... ARE YOU?" Her dark finger pointed, and Drake's wide eyes fixated on the long nail that seemed to only be inches from his face. _This woman obviously had no idea WHO she was dealing with_, the vampire thought and rolled his amber eyes.

"You KNOW who I am, you said my name!" The frustration in his voice was only obvious and this made the woman shake her head, with the same stupid grin plastered on her face, and he rolled his eyes again, "Fine, I'll repeat it for your short term memory. I'm DRA-"

"Not what I meant young Drake!" The woman exclaimed and Drake raised his eyebrows, "Where do YOU lay in de great circle of life?"

_Is this some kind of sick joke?_ He thought, while crossing his arms over his chest, "You wanna know?" He asked and the woman nodded her head enthusiastically, "You really wanna know where my place is in the _'great circle of life'_?" She nodded again and he smirked, "My place... is lower than dirt. I don't BELONG anywhere, I just exist. So thank you, for making me feel worse today. You've been a REAL help."

"DAT IS DE FIRST STEP!" She exclaimed again and clapped her hands together, "Making you FEEL again!"

"Great... I didn't know this was a therapy class..." The young vampire turned his back on her and began walking away with a simple growl, "Now, if you don't mind I'm going ho-"

"HOME?" She asked, popping in front of him. He turned his head around quickly, finding that she wasn't there anymore and that there weren't two of them running around. How did she get over here so fast? He thought, and she grinned up at him, "Home is DAT way." Her long dark finger pointed in the opposite direction and Drake growled.

"No. I've been living THAT way for years now." He pointed towards the direction he was going, "The HOME you're talking about isn't an option. I can't GO there anymore, I don't belong."

There was silence between the two and Drake decided that it was finally safe to move around her and go home. There was a strange possibility that the woman had given up on him, after all, he would have... Everyone has, but that was only because he made it that way, "King James is quite proud of you, young Drake." She finally said, though it was in a soft and meaningful tone.

"How?" He asked bluntly and glared over to the deranged woman, "He's _dead_." Asaka opened her mouth to argue, but Drake shook his head, giving her the sad news, "He died... a long time ago... "

"NOPE!" She exclaimed with a gigantic grin and this made him jump, "HE'S ALIVE! And I show him to you!" The young vampire's face looked as if he had just seen a ghost and the woman motioned for him to follow, "Follow Asaka, she knows de way!"

The woman started running off, and for a witch, she moved quite fast and inhumanly. "WAIT!" He exclaimed and shot off after her, using his supernatural strength, though, he couldn't reach the amount of intensity she was running at, "WOULD YOU SLOW DOWN?" He hadn't spoken those words in so long, it felt strange... it made HIM feel human, and it was a good feeling... until reality kicked back in.

* * *

"I can't believe him." Shayna growled as they reached the sealed gate and Victoria frowned, unable to look at anyone in the face, "We find out he's actually alive, he's our ONLY HOPE, yet, he's the one that doesn't want to return back and he _'DOESN'T CARE_'. PLEASE, I take back anything good I ever said about that asshole! If you ask me, he's a rotten, no good, piece of-"

"SHAYNA." Ayden yelled, making everyone jump. It took a lot to make Ayden yell, and this made Victoria look back at him with wide eyes, "Seriously, enough is enough now! Drake has made his choice, there isn't anything we can do, so just forget about it." Cole opened his mouth to say something, and once everyone looked at him, he quickly shut it, unable to speak of it. "Anyway..." Ayden stated slowly, as his hands grasped the iron bars, "We're going to put a stop to this whole... Scar thing. We have to!"

"I could not agree more!" Alison nodded her head, and the blond boy grinned back at her. "And you know what? I have total faith in us."

"I do too." Danny said happily, placing an arm around Shayna, "And I have faith in our little werepanther here." The blond girl smiled softly and playfully shoved Danny away, "I'm serious! If it weren't for you... We'd all probably be dead. First you saved us at the grill, then you distracted Scar from the gate..." His dark eyes focused in on hers, scanning her beautiful face, "You're amazing." She blushed a deep red, and everyone nodded in agreement. "Good luck out there, Shayna."

The blond girl smirked and stood on her tiptoes, giving Danny a small kiss on the cheek, "You too, Danny..." He looked shocked when his friend pulled away, but he wasn't going to allow this to be their last time together. Instead, he pulled her in close, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "Wow, where did THAT come from?"

"I just... didn't want this to be our last time together." He smirked, "You know... Just in case something happens."

"Yes, and I want YOU to be safe as well!" Alison stated, pulling Ayden close to her by his shirt, "I don't want to see one more scratch on you. The whole leg thing... It scared the hell out of me!"

"I'll try and be safe, Ali." He grinned and wrapped his arms around her, hugging the sweet girl tightly. "And you need to be safe as well..." Victoria and Nick exchanged glances, and Nick pretended to stick his finger down his throat, gagging. The beauty smiled at her little brother and grasped the fence, placing her right foot on it first. Everyone froze and looked at her with amazement, mainly because no body wanted to be the first one over, but the brave eighteen year old took matters into her own hands.

"I'm going over first." She stated boldly and they nodded their heads hesitantly, "I'll need a couple more people, but I know a way that we can sneak under the castle... There's passageways all around here, and there are weapons in the dungeon. If we can just sneak in there and grab the weapons, we'd all be fine." Her greenish blue eyes glanced over to the blond girl, and she smiled lightly, "Shayna... You have your claws for weapons, there's no possible way I'm letting you fight with a sword if you're skilled in something else." The female grinned over to her friend and the beauty nodded, "Now... Who's coming with me?"

"Me." Nick stated boldly and stood next to his sister, gazing over to Ayden. The blond boy nodded his head and took a step forward as well. "And Ayden..." The youngest smirked and Victoria nodded her head.

"Oh! I almost forgot, " She said and let go of the iron gate, her pale hand coming up and grabbing a hold of the chain that held the ring. "I don't need THIS anymore." With that being said, the brunette ripped the chain off of her neck, and, without hesitation, dropped it in the grass. The entire gang stared at it and seemed absolutely speechless. She has never taken that necklace off since the day Drake's 'funeral'... Nick was the first to speak up after that, and his voice sounded warning filled.

"Vee..." The youngest boy began with a little shake of his head, but the brunette cut short.

"I don't want it anymore, Nick." Victoria replied hastily, "I want to forget about him as soon as I possibly can. That was the first step... Now..." Her light eyes were practically smiling when she gazed over everyone's sad and worried expressions, "Lets go get us our kingdom back!"

* * *

Aurora remained in Drake's room, but when she heard something shuffle from downstairs, the dark haired vampire growled, and shot out of the room and down the stairs in an instant, flipping the light switch on, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOU-" There stood Riley and Evan with large eyes and frozen figures, "Oh, I'm... I'm sorry, I thought you were Drake."

The two boys became more mobile again and Riley nodded his head cautiously. Aurora knew they wanted to say something, but instead of pressuring them, like they wanted, she tilted her head to the side and examined their faces. "Yeah, funny thing." The redhead began and started towards the cabinet, "Evan and I found out something interesting about him today, isn't that right Evan?"

"RIGHT!" The bigger man exclaimed, nodding his head firmly.

Riley's eyebrows rose and he crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for Evan to continue on, just like they rehearsed. "Well?" The impatient redhead asked and Evan tilted his head to the side out of confusion, "Aren't you going to add something to it?"

"Oh..." Evan began and tapped his chin quickly, going deep into thought, "I-I don't think so... was there something I was supposed to say Riley?" Aurora grinned and her dark eyes flashed over to the redhead whom looked as if he were fuming.

"OH NEVER MIND!" Riley exclaimed, "You always do that! You always plan something out and never go through with it, it drives me crazy!" Evan frowned and the redhead's beady eyes looked over to Aurora, who immediately turned the smile off, "We know... that Drake is royalty HOWEVER, we don't know where he's from." He paused for a moment and Aurora raised her eyebrows, "What? Is he the king of England or something?"

"First of all..." Aurora began with a slight chuckle, "Drake doesn't have a British accent the way I do, second of all... How did you find out he's royalty?"

"His friends told us this morning." Riley stated as he crossed his arms over his chest, "BETTER START TALKIN', AND I WANT ALL THE DETAILS AND NOTHIN' BUT!" The female vampire shook her head and the redhead glared, "What do you mean **_no_**?"

"Not what I meant." She replied in a rather wry voice, "I meant, I can't tell you everything, because I don't know everything." Once the two opened their mouths again, she cut them off, "BUT, I will tell you everything that I know, and I'll tell you the truth... You both deserve to know..." Where to start? She thought, and found a great way to start the story off... After all, it began with her, "and I'll start with my story."

* * *

Coming to a sudden stop, Drake looked around, only to find himself completely alone. _Where did she go?_ He thought and continued to scan the area, listening for certain movements. Everything was completely still the young vampire sighed heavily, plopping down in the grass and staring into the pond that was beneath him. His reflection wasn't completely gone this time, only slightly blurry.

"And what do you see?" A voice approached Drake's ears and he didn't bother to gasp in fright from the sudden outburst, he felt her behind him, and half expected that she didn't leave.

"Nothing." He stated bluntly, "I see a blurry reflection... if it were clear, I'd see the face of a monster." Truth be told, he'd rather see his reflection as a blur. It seemed to be the only thing he struggled with now, that and love.

"No..." Asaka began, and her long dark finger touched the water, making it ripple and change formation, but in the end, it all looked the same, "Look harder..." With this, Drake focused on the water, seeing his blurry reflection remaining the same exact way, "You are de king..." Asaka's voice approached his ears once more and as soon as he found some identity, the reflection came out more clearly and the vampire's eyes widened, "You are de son of James Ashburn..." The reflection in the water came out even better and he stared at it with disbelief, "Don't yah see it? He LIVES in _you_."

Drake's eyes lifted from the pond and to the sky, as if forgetting anyone else is there. Flashbacks appeared in his mind and at first he wanted them to stop, but since they wouldn't and he had no control over anything, he watched.

_"TAG! YOUR IT!" A female exclaimed, tapping Drake on the shoulder. He laughed and followed the girl as she ran all the way back to the rather large tree out front of the castle, touching it. "HA, now you can't get me! I'm saaaaaaafe."_

_"Oh c'mon Vee!" Drake complained, "You always do that... Every time I always am about to get you, you touch the stupid tree!"_

_"Well, maybe if you payed attention to the RULES for once." Victoria stated and once the two bickered back and forth, he saw his father step out from the castle, walking towards them with simple shakes of his auburn head._

_"What are you two fighting about now?" He asked with a small grin and Drake crossed his arms over his chest. Victoria placed her hands on her hips, but both kept their mouths closed. "Not talking now?"_

_"NO." They both exclaimed and the king sighed, placing his hands on both his child and his son's friend. _

_"You know..." He began and they both looked at him with curious eyes, "Drake, you are going to be king someday, and if the future holds out the way it should, Victoria should be a big part of it... You two need to learn how to work together and not always fight about everything."_

_"Yeah?" Drake asked sarcastically and pointed towards her, "Well she's the one that needs to play fair! She never plays fair!"_

_"Yet, you both are still friends." James pointed out the obvious and both of their eyes widened, "What I mean is... When people get older, I happen to know that they are always there for one another... But it wont help if you two are constantly fighting... You are both friends, and I know that at first, you weren't very fond of one another, and when you two were fighting, you were both off playing alone... When you are both happy with one another, anything is possible."_

Drake never understood what his father had meant... until now. A frown tugged down on his lips, mainly because his father's wisdom was effecting him, even now... Even if his father should hate him for what he did. When you are both happy with one another, anything is possible... Drake thought deeply, then heard a voice... it sounded rather faint and it was calling his name. "Drake..." It said softly and the young vampire continued to look around, "My son..."

"F-Father?" He asked and glanced up at the sky, only to find his father in the clouds. Anyone normal, like Riley or Evan, probably would have ran for the hills, but Drake... he was slightly off from normal.

"Drake, you have forgotten me." He stated loudly, his voice sounding like thunder.

The young vampire shook his head over and over, "No!" He exclaimed, "H-How could I?"

"You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me." The ghost didn't look down at him, he couldn't see his eyes, only a large silhouette. "Look inside yourself, Drake. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life."

"How can I go back?" Drake asked with a frown, gesturing towards his pale skin and fangs, "I-I'm not who I used to be."

"Remember who you are." James stated boldly, "You are _my _son, and the one _true _king here after." Drake's amber eyes widened and watched as the silhouette began to fade, "Remember..."

"FATHER!" Drake exclaimed, and chased after the fading person, "DON'T LEAVE ME!" The word 'remember' echoed through the entire area, and after a while of chasing something that probably wasn't there in the first place, he stopped, "D-Don't... Leave me..."

A popping noise reverberating through his ears and he jumped slightly, looking over to Asaka who now joined him with a giant smile, "WHAT WAS THAT? Pbbbah! Very peculiar. Don't you dink?"

He nodded his head slowly. All these years... He has been trying so hard to find a new identity, to be something he wasn't... and it worked, but how much longer could it have stayed? "Looks like the winds are changing..."Drake observed with a slight smirk.

"Ah, but change is good." She stated, and her eyes glanced to the ground as Drake nodded. The weird witch grasped a fallen branch from the last rain storm, and examined it quickly.

"Yes, but change is not easy... believe me." He went on, ignoring her strange habits, "I know what I have to do... or... should do... But going back will mean facing my past. I've been running from it for so long." The vampire's voice trailed off, but quickly after he finished his statement, something hard hit him over the head. His eyes widened and he jumped, glaring over at the psychic through anger filled eyes. "OUCH... JEEZE... WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

"It doesn't matta!" Asaka grinned, retrieving the stick back, "It's in de past!" She chuckled and Drake growled, wanting to rip her throat out.

"YEAH... BUT IT STILL HURTS." His pale hand, due to not quenching his thirst today, rubbed his head, but the witch grabbed his arms, practically getting in his face, "Hasn't anyone ever told you about personal space?" Drake muttered and the witch let go, laughing loudly.

"Oh yes, de past can hurt." She ignored his question and Drake tilted his head to the side, wondering what the hell she was getting at. "But de way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it." Quickly, she swung the stick again and Drake ducked, his eyes following the wood the entire time, "AHA! SEE! Now... WHAT ARE YOU GOING DO DO?"

The young vampire smirked down at Asaka and gave her a rather charming look, "First... I'm gonna take your STICK." His hands snatched the stick away from her and her eyes widened as he threw it.

"NO NO NO! NOT DE STICK!" She complained and chased after it, "AY!" Her dark eyes noticed that he was growing further and further away from her, but not towards the boarding house. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

The young vampire grinned and turned his head slightly, facing the insane witch, "I'M GOIN' BACK!" Asaka's face it up and she grinned over to him, watching as he continued running at an inhumanly fast pace towards home.

"GOOD, GET OUDDA HERE!" She exclaimed, and couldn't help but feel accomplished. She didn't fail, and the kingdom will soon become Drake's... Then her face fell... _hopefully._

* * *

"Whoa..." Nick whispered, looking around the underground tunnel that Victoria had found for them. "Where the hell did you find this place? I never knew the castle had an underground passage way to get outside! Well, this worked out pretty damn great for us!" His pale hand removed a spiderweb that hung freely in front of his face.

"I found it back when I was around eight or nine... Dr- HIM and I were trying to find Scar, instead, we came across this place." Nick and Ayden glanced at one another, and once they reached Scar's old room, Victoria pushed the heavy door open and saw the weapons that he had hanging on the walls. "Perfect." She grinned, and quickly ran over to them, grabbing a long sword and looking at it with wonder, "I've never used one of these before..."

Nick and Ayden walked into the room cautiously and the youngest boy grabbed another sword that hung on the wall, "Why do you think he has these?"

"Not sure." The blond boy replied with a simple shrug and he picked up another one off the wall, "I suppose it's just in case magic doesn't help him. You saw him with that little pocket knife... He has little gadgets all over the place." He paused and observed the area around him for a moment, "Seems suspicious to me."

"And why would THAT be?" A voice other than the other two appeared at the door and Victoria gasped, dropping the sword from her fair hands. "Oh yes... The king is going to be VERY pleased." He glanced to the back and the trio's eyes widened as the began backing up, "SEIZE THEM." One of his little guard dogs pointed into the room, and Victoria noticed that it was Ashton and he was apart of the trio of shapeshifters that continuously tried to kill her and Drake when they were kids.

The other shapeshifters, not including Ed or Jason, ran into the room and grabbed a hold of Victoria first, then Ayden, and then Nick. Ashton grinned over to his team and nodded his head with approval and they dragged their human bodies up the stairs. Victoria tried to place herself back into the trance, but since they weren't in their wolf forms, there was nothing that can hurt them. _So much for trying to save the kingdom..._ She thought and watched as her and her friends went to their possible deaths.

* * *

"ALRIGHT." Riley exclaimed, "Let me get this straight..." Aurora nodded and Evan crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the counter, "William Ashburn is Drake's ancestor and doppelganger, which means 'evil twin'... and seeing this doppelganger results to death... It was all in William's planning that he has a doppelganger to open the gates forever, but he had to kill Drake... and make him a vampire?" Aurora nodded again and the redhead continued on, "And you were William's sort of lover, who made all of this happen, and then he tried to kill you?"

"Yes." Aurora answered and the redhead shook his head, "WHAT NOW?"

"It's just... INSANE!" Riley shouted and Evan nodded his head, "So right now... Drake has a little twin running around who looks exactly like him but they were born in different centuries?" Aurora nodded again, "AND NOW DRAKE'S SUPPOSED TO BE KING OF THIS MAGICAL KINGDOM IN WHICH HE RAN AWAY FROM! I GET IT!" He grabbed Evan's face, "I GET IT!"

"Good job, Riley!" Evan exclaimed and the little man let go of his friends face, "That was hard to understand!"

"Yes, but now we have to find him..." Aurora frowned, "I don't even know where he-"

"HA!" A voice approached all of their ears, and they spun around, looking at the open window, "You wont find him here!" Aurora raised her eyebrows and Riley glared over to the creepy woman in the window. She placed a right hand over her heart and bowed slightly, "De king... has returned."

"Oh... Oh my God." Aurora began and shook her head, feeling as if she may collapse, "I can't believe it! He went back!"

"Sorry to uh... break up a moment...but." Riley pointed over to the witch who still sat in the window, "WHO THE HELL IS SHE?"

"RILEY, DON'T YOU SEE! DRAKE WENT BACK TO THE KINGDOM!" Aurora exclaimed, a giant smile pulling across her lips, "He went back! Oh! I just knew he would!"

The woman poofed away, and a popping noise filled their ears as she appeared inside the boarding house. This made Riley and Evan jump, but Aurora knew better as she smiled down at Asaka. "Yes, he went back... but de king needs help... You tree must help him."

"Tree?" Riley asked sarcastically and the witch glared over at him, "OH... THREE..." He snapped his fingers, "GOT IT." The woman glared at him, but Aurora took her focus away from the idiot redhead.

"H-How do we get over there? By the time we get there, he'll be well into the kingdom... possibly fighting!" Aurora made a good point, and Riley and Evan both nodded their heads. Asaka, however, grinned and tilted her head to the side.

"You leave dat part... to me."

* * *

Drake grasped the sealed gate's iron bars and was very hesitant about jumping back over, unlocking the gates forever... but it needed to be done. His father was wrong about something, vampires do have good in them... and maybe the entire vampire situation hadn't worked before, because their king was a mortal. This time, there will be control... He stared into HIS kingdom with determined eyes, but those eyes caught hold of something shiny on the ground...

The young vampire bent down and grasped the silver chain, with the ring attached to it. "Victoria..." He whispered, and heard a popping noise behind him. The vampire quickly shoved the necklace and ring into his pocket and straightened his posture before turning around quickly, eying Aurora, Riley and Evan.

"I can't believe you came back." Aurora stated with a grin and he smiled turning around and peering through the iron gates.

"Well, it's my home, Rora..." He replied, "My home needs me..."

Riley and Evan peered through the gates with amazement, "I-I've never seen this before. I passed this place a million times!" The redhead exclaimed, "And... I have NEVER SEEN THIS!"

"It's because you believe in magic now." Aurora stated with a nod, "A normal human who believes... they can see. If they don't... I'm not sure what it looks like, but I bet it doesn't look like THIS." Riley and Evan shook their heads and Drake placed a foot on the iron gate.

"I'm going over... Aurora, once I go over, you'll probably be able to follow." He said firmly and the female vampire nodded her head, watching as he took a deep breath in, and began climbing. This is it... He thought, the first moment he jumps over this gate... it's open forever. The vampire stood at the top, and with inhuman speed, he jumped down, landing on the grass. Turning slightly, he watched as the golden enchantment seal faded away and Aurora opened the gate with her hands, and walked into the kingdom with wide eyes.

"I can't believe it..." She whispered and eyed him up and down, "It's just so difficult to believe that... you're the key."

Drake nodded his head, but something else grasped his attention... growling from the woods. As the young vampire turned around, two shapeshifters jumped from behind the darkened woods, and tackled him to the floor. Warm welcome home... Drake thought, and he grasped the light brown wolf, whom he remembered chased him from when he was a kid. "See ya, wolfie." He grinned and snapped it's neck, causing the wolf to lay limp on the ground. The gray wolf's eyes widened and he went whimpering and running through the forest... Probably going back to tell his beloved king.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Riley exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air, "You sure showed that wolf... thing!" Drake nodded his head and began walking a few paces ahead.

"Alright, guys..." He stated softly, "This is it... It's all or nothing... and it could be EXTREMELY dangerous..."

"So what?" Aurora asked with a grin, "I've been through worse... If these stupid shapeshifters are in the way, it'll be easy to dispose of them."

"And we're with you until the end." Riley stated, placing his right hand over his heart and bowing slightly.

The young vampire smiled down at the redhead and then glanced ahead, looking at the kingdom with amazement. The last time he stood in this spot... he was running for his life and he was ten years old, having images of his father getting murdered. He growled with determination and smirked, "C'mon."

* * *

"An, young Victoria, I thought I would be seeing you again sometime soon." Scar said lightly, holding the sword she tried stealing in his skinny hands, "Unfortunate for you, I have my watch dogs everywhere." He tilted his head to the side and Victoria shifted her vision to the right, watching as her mother screamed and tried to push the shapeshifters away from her to get to her children. Elizabeth had done the same thing, Opal however glared at Scar, but the young brunette could tell that the shapeshifters had to restrain her. "Thought you were out seeking help... Hmmm, I suppose you couldn't find exactly what you needed, aye?"

Victoria opened her mouth to speak but the shapeshifter squeezed his hand that grasped her shoulder and it popped out of it's socket. The brunette screamed and tears flooded to her eyes, pouring down her cheeks. "YOU BASTARD," She exclaimed and squirmed around in pain as they started laughing.

"LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!" Nick yelled and tried getting up, but the shapeshifter shoved him back down, using his supernatural strength. "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!"

Scar's eyes went to Nick and he tilted his head to the side, dragging the sword along the floor, "I think... you should die first." He stated softly and the shapeshifters grinned, keeping their hold on the three adults and the two teenagers. "Unless anyone else would like to step in."

"ME." Victoria exclaimed loudly and the king raised his eyebrows, glancing down at the eighteen year old. "Kill me first."

"Why, I couldn't let THAT body go to waste, could I?" He asked and the eighteen year old glared up at him, "I'll answer my own question, no... I cannot."

The beauty growled and continued kneeling, as they made her do, but this at least gave them time to live and say goodbye to one another. Even if she's dead, her friends needed to win, they HAD to. The brunette smirked and once Scar's face came close to her, she spit right in it, adding none other than, "Go rot in hell."

"Why you insolent LITTLE-" The king drew back his sword and grinned, "Frankly, I don't need to have FUN with your body when it's alive." Victoria winced and turned her head away from this, hearing her mother scream, everything seemed in slow motion as well. Once the blade pierced her skin, he drew it back out, stabbing her a few more times, but that was only until a figure stood in front of her... He was her protector... HE wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" The king asked the one who stood as a guard in front of Victoria.

The brunette looked up as she felt her whole head spinning, she was losing a lot of blood... and fast, but the last thing that came out of her protector's lips, made her smile. He tilted his head to the side, giving off a rather charming and sadistic smirk, "_Drake Ashburn_."

* * *

**AN:** . lmao.

**so Drake VS Scar next?** I THINK SO :)

Victoria took the necklace off _( to me, not only did it symbolize love... but it symbolized luck as well... DUMB MOOOOVE)_ lmao, but when Drake found it, I was all **:DDD**

When Victoria got stabbed, that part was hard to write for, but Drake saved the day, and don't worry, our lovely girl wont die :) **Remember, vampire blood heals. :) **but Aurora needs to give it to her.

Drake and Asaka... how did you like that? Hmmm? Did you enjoy the little flashback scene? How about Shayna and Danny's kiss? (I personally love those two :)] and even Ayden and Alison shared a cute little moment, but poor Victoria, Nick and Cole were alone. (Well, not poor Cole, he deserves it. XD)


	24. Wasn't built to lose

**Wasn't built to lose**

Scar's light green eyes widened as he scanned his nephews face over and over, placing his younger face on the older, more mature one. "Drake?" The twenty year old raised his eyebrows and slightly growled over to the lanky, sneaky man, "Drake..." His uncle chuckled nervously and a fake smile pulled across his repulsive lips, "What a surprise to see you..." His light green eyes shifted over to Ashton and a distressed Ed, allowing a glare to take over, "ALIVE." The young vampire clenched his fists together, wanting to rip his heart out, and the hate only grew when he added this last part in a light and fluffy voice, "Sorry about your little girlfriend... she slipped into the blade..." His uncle waved his hand and rolled his eyes swiftly, "_Poor _clumsy thing."

As the 'king' spoke, Drake continued to have his back to the enemies, and the shapeshifter that kept a firm hold on Victoria grinned and stretched his arms out, planning to snap Drake's neck and protect his king, but that plan was foiled when Aurora beat him to the punch and snapped the idiots neck in a matter of seconds. Scar raised his eyebrows and the female vampire grinned, nodding her head towards him before going to Victoria's aid. "What the hell..." His uncle began in a low and rough voice, but Drake stole his attention right away, hoping that he wouldn't see Aurora giving the human girl some blood, knowing that would heal her.

"It's over Scar." The young vampire stated with determination and stubbornness fixated into his brilliant features, "Either back down or fight."

Once the lanky man opened his mouth, a new voice approached both of their ears, "Sire!" Ashton exclaimed in a rather broken voice, both Drake and Scar looked over to the shapeshifter who glared at the young vampire, "H-He k-killed Jason..." Drake's eyebrows rose, "HE KILLED MY LITTLE BROTHER!" The shapeshifter took several steps foreward, wanting to end Drake's life to complete his revenge, but a couple of his own people held him back, "MY BROTHER IS DEAD!"

The terror struck king shifted his eyes back to his nephew, growling and shaking with fury. Drake however, gave him a simple smirk, completely unafraid of the next events to come, "Sorry about your pet wolf..." He paused and the smirk only grew into a tiny grin, "Should have kept him on a tighter _leash_."

"Ah, well that wouldn't be the first death you were responsible for." Scar replied in a monotonous voice, clutching the handle of the sword tightly in his olive hands. "Shall we take a trip down memory lane, young Drake?"

"That isn't going to work anymore." Drake answered in a harsh and bitter filled voice, "I put the past behind me... Stop being so desperate to find excuses to get rid of me." The vampire grinned over to his uncle in a rather sinister way and added the last part in a whisper, "Because I'm not going anywhere."

"OH, REALLY?" Scar asked and out of Drake's peripherals, he could see three adults trying to get a better look at things, he could also see Cole, Danny, Shayna, and Alison lurking around the area hoping to get Ayden and Nick free as quick as possible, "Then why don't we let everyone know how king James REALLY died, hm?" The young vampire growled, "HOW HE WAS BETRAYED BY HIS OWN SON AND MURDERED IN THE WOODS OF THE EXACT NIGHT YOU RAN AWAY." Drake's heart began pounding against his chest, little gasps entered his ears, all eyes burned into his skin, and they were filled with hate, "SO how about I do us all a little favor..." The lanky man said in a lighter tone of voice, and held the sword high a little higher, close to Drake's chest, "And end the one who REALLY murdered the king."

"NO!" Elizabeth exclaimed and tried to get passed the shapeshifter's, but they all held her back. Aurora's eyes were wide and filled with disappointment, as she held Victoria for support as she healed, but the disappointment that Victoria held was much worse. _How could he have killed his own father? _Aurora thought, but another idea that popped through her head... was that Scar was lying.

The 'king' pierced the sharp blade through Drake's chest swiftly, a giant grin pulling on his repulsive lips. Drake's shoulders slumped over, and looked as if he were going to collapse, but instead, he took a step forward, the blade going deeper. Scar's eyes widened out of surprise and Drake smirked over to his uncle, "You're just forgetting one thing." He tilted his head, "I'm already dead." Scar let go of the handle and stumbled backwards, Drake's fangs extended from the young vampire's mouth, as he moved forward, pulling the blade out of his chest quickly and throwing it to the side. "You stupid... stupid man..." The two shapeshifters that held onto Ayden and Nick, let go quickly, Opal and Isabelle felt relieved, and the wolves were ready to turn at any moment, but that was only until the chime of midnight came around and everyone's eyes widened with fear. Regular human's started running to safety, Isabelle ran over to Victoria, yanking her from the female vampire's grasp, and yanked her son off the ground.

"MOM." Nick groaned, and Isabelle ignored their pleads, using magic to force them inside the castle. Ayden's deep blue eyes watched as his friends unwillingly were taken by their mother and into the safety. His eyes widened when his mother joined his side, yanking his arm and pulling him the same exact way.

"NO, MOM... I'M FIGHTING." He stated firmly, yanking his arm back, and she looked at him with stern eyes.

"YOU WILL NOT TURN OUT LIKE THEM!" The female pointed towards the vampire's and, using magic, she pulled him into the castle, a feeling of safety approaching both parents.

Drake's confused eyes watched as Scar started laughing sinisterly, and walking towards the middle of the court yard, the shapeshifters grinned at one another before shifting into their forms and watched their 'king' with intense eyes. Aurora joined the young vampire's side, along with Riley, Evan, Cole, Danny, Alison and Shayna.

"The hell's going on?" Drake asked softly and Shayna's finger caught his attention, she was pointing at the full moon. "Alright... and?" He asked and she pointed over to Scar, who was now starting to turn into the werewolf... the same exact werewolf that killed HIS father. "No..." He breathed and Aurora shook her head. "No way..."

"Drake, we must go inside!" The female vampire exclaimed, pulling Drake's arm, "IF HE BITES YOU... IT MEANS DEATH FOR VAMPIRES!" Drake shook his head and her dark eyes went wide, "ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

"AURORA!" He exclaimed over the loud wind that suddenly came into effect. A storm was most definitely coming. "I- I DIDN'T KILL MY FATHER!" The female vampire tilted her head to the side watching as the young vampire pointed over to Scar's body, "He did."

"THAT'S GREAT, DRAKE." Aurora stated sarcastically, trying to pull on his arm, "CAN WE G-" She couldn't even get that last part out, the fight has already begun. The werewolf howled and started towards the tiny group, slashing at them, causing Aurora to fall back, though she didn't get hurt.

Drake growled and noticed that the werewolf was after him, and after him _only_. The others weren't important and this was something the young vampire took into mind. Once Scar swiped over to Drake, howling menacingly, the vampire jumped out of the way, and started off into the woods alone, without any allies along side him.

An army of shapeshifters followed after the young vampire, along with Scar, and Aurora's wide eyes glanced over to the rest. "C'MON, WE HAVE TO HELP!" She exclaimed and ran after some of the enemies, taking their lives as soon as she could get her pale hands around their necks. Shayna, however, phased into the werepanther, and the long saber tooth, bit into some of the shapeshifters, making them yelp from the pain. Alison, Danny and Cole picked up the swords that Victoria, Nick and Ayden were going to use to kill Scar, and began using them against the wolves whom constantly went after Aurora and Shayna.

"YEAH!" Riley exclaimed and he glanced over to Evan who sat there with wide eyes, "WELL... EVAN!" He grinned and the bigger man looked at him with large, frightened eyes, "Remember our motto! When the going gets tough, the _tough get going_!"

Evan tilted his head to the side, "Wait a minute, I thought our motto was '_Hakuna Matata_'."

"EVAN, STOP LIVIN' IN THE PAST!" The tiny redhead exclaimed and grinned, "We need a new motto." The human nodded his head, and they began running towards Aurora and the army of shapeshifters, but one of them turned around and growled menacingly over to Riley and Evan. The two human's stopped dead in their tracks and glanced over to one another, "LIKE I SAID!" The redhead exclaimed and began running towards the castle, "LET'S GET GOING!"

* * *

Drake continued to run quickly through the forest, dodging trees like an expert, hearing as an army of footsteps followed behind him. He turned his head and saw as the majority of them were keeping up with the young vampire. _How did I get away from them when I was ten?_ He thought with wide eyes, then, using supernatural abilities, he leapt off the ground and steadily landed on a tree branch.

Panting heavily, the young vampire began leaping from tree to tree, watching as the shapeshifters followed his movements from the ground, growling up at him. With great hearing, he heard the leaves ruffling, and it wasn't just because of the strong wind. The leaves were ruffling more than the one's around them and turning his head slightly, he observed Scar's long arms holding onto a branch. As the werewolf swung himself up, he snarled and practically roared out of frustration as the animal's narrow pupils landed on Drake. Spit dangled from his mouth, as the large werewolf jumped from tree to tree, making everything shake, and the young vampire's heart began beating hard against his chest.

_Don't get bit._ He thought to himself, as the werewolf landed in the same exact tree Drake jumped to. The landing made such an impact on the tree, that the vampire lost balance and he fell to the ground, though, he landed on his feet and started running again. Half of him began to notice how the shapeshifters weren't around him anymore, his wonderful uncle must have somehow let them know that this was HIS fight. Stopping in his tracks, the vampire looked around quickly, unable to hear the sounds of the werewolf anymore... it was completely silent, and silence during a battle was never a good thing.

With quick thinking, the vampire ran off path, and as a low rumbling growl entered his ears, Drake's eyes widened and he dove behind a giant bolder, pressing his back against it and keeping his senses clear. A low, yet elongated, snarl entered his ears and Drake closed his eyes tightly for a moment, and thankfully reopened them to darkness. His amber eyes glanced up at the pitch black sky and noticed how a dark cloud began to cover the moon, allowing the werewolf to shift back to his human form, "Come out, come out where ever you are..." Scar's voice was playful, yet pure evil still seeped through it, "I promise not to bite... much."

_Father..._ Drake thought as his heart continued to beat hard against his chest, _Please help me... I've never fought something so evil before_. He prayed that Scar continued to stay in his human form, and that the cloud was JUST big enough for him to seek revenge on his deranged uncle. Another rumble approached his ears, although, it wasn't Scar... this time it was the thunder, but somewhere in that thunder, he heard the word, "Remember."

Panting slightly, the young vampire nodded his head, and got to his feet rather quickly, coming around the corner and staring his uncle right in the face. "Ah, so you aren't a coward after all." He grinned, yet Drake continued to glare, "So tell me... how exactly did this _wonder _happen to you? Hm?" He tilted his head and began walking towards his nephew, "How do you feel being the most hated thing in the kingdom of Ashburn?" Drake continued to be silent, and they began circling one another slowly, "Even your mother didn't want to help you in this fight."

"She has no reason to." Drake stated boldly and smirked, "This is MY battle and this is MY kingdom." Scar tilted his head to the side, "And if I don't win..." He paused, thinking of his friends, "Someone has to."

"Oh, and someone will." Scar replied dryly, only thinking of himself, and soon the cloud moved away from the moon, making it's silvery greatness shine down on both of them. For a moment, Scar froze, but a wicked grin spread across his lips again, his entire body transforming into the giant, disgusting, and frightening looking beast.

* * *

"MOM, I'M GOING OUT THERE, I WILL FIGHT!" Victoria exclaimed as she walked towards the double french doors. Isabelle stuck her hand out, locking the door so that her daughter wouldn't dare leave this castle. "MOM. I'M EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD... I CAN MAKE CHOICES-"

"You left." She stated softly, her eyes not looking at her beautiful daughter, "You left and didn't even say where you were going." Finally, her green eyes looked into Victoria's, "I was SICK WITH WORRY, AND YOU DON'T CARE." Victoria looked as if she were slapped in the face and once she opened her mouth to argue, Isabelle continued on, "I'm disappointed in BOTH of you."

"Yeah?" Nick asked sarcastically, "Well thanks to US leaving, we found Drake Ashburn... REMEMBER HIM?"

"That isn't Drake." Elizabeth frowned, "He looked... so..." Tears started to flood to the former queen's eyes, "That is NOT my son!" Victoria joined Elizabeth's side and she placed an arm around her.

"Elizabeth..." The beauty began and the former queen looked at her through sad eyes, "That is your son... and he still has the same, good heart that he always had. Him being a vampire... it doesn't matter. He's your son, and you should love him anyway."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT'S HIM?" Elizabeth exclaimed, tears rolled down her face, "He was so- so pale... and..."

"It's him." Nick stated and she looked at him with wide dark eyes, "Believe us. He ran away... I guess because of the guilt he had about... you know... betraying James."

Victoria shook her head and all eyes went to her, "I don't believe that for a second. Sure, he might have thought that he was the reason for James' death, but... Someone had to of put that idea in his head, besides... didn't you all hear Scar say something around the lines of... How Drake betrayed James and ran away the same exact night he was murdered?" Everyone's eyes widened even more, "Sounds to be that Scar planned this from the beginning, it was just one of his damn secrets."

"Drake is innocent." Ayden nodded and headed towards the door. "Isabelle, unlock this door... We need to fight!"

"NO." She exclaimed and started to pace the castle floor, "I will not let you three out there and endanger yourselves... If Drake wants to be out there, that's fine, he has more of a chance of living than you three do!"

Nick smirked over to Isabelle and crossed his arms over his chest, "Oh yeah? Our other friends are out there right now fighting... We planned this together, so either take the enchantment off the door, or so help me I will find a-"

"Guys." Victoria frowned and shook her head, "It's useless... They're being MORONS and they aren't going to let us out no matter how much we beg!" Isabelle nodded her head firmly, along with Elizabeth and Opal. "Just forget it. It's no use fighting over something that they are so strong willed about... I should know, I get it from my mother."

Nick and Ayden looked at Victoria, as if she had two heads, but immediately shut their mouths from arguing with the beauty, because like her mother, she was stubborn and she knew another way out of this... Victoria Morlet was not going to give up so easily. Once the brunette got up from her seat, Ayden and Nick glared at the adults, following behind her. "Ayden, wait..." Opal stated and Ayden didn't want to stop, but he knew that if he didn't, this may be the last time he'd ever see his mother again. "There's something you should know..."

"What?" He asked softly and looked her up and down through his deep blue eyes, "Unless you are giving me full permission to go out there and fight, then I don't want to hear what you have to say."

She was quiet for several minutes and once she shook her head, he rolled his eyes, turning around and walking after Victoria and Nick. This was going to bug him now, and he may never know exactly what his mother wanted to say to him, but maybe it was best if he didn't know... Maybe it was best if he just went ahead and fought for what he thought was right. Nick and Ayden's eyes fixated on Victoria once they turned the corner, and she turned around quickly, a triumphant smirk built on her lips, "We're using the secret passage way in the dungeons... C'mon!"

* * *

Drake watched as his uncle turned into the killer that ripped his father apart without a second thought. He growled and once the werewolf leapt into the air, his roar making a chill run up the young vampire's spine, and his claws fully extended, swiping at Drake with lightening fast speed. Drake jumped out of the way, and with the little amount of bravery he had left, the vampire leapt into the air as well, tackling the gigantic werewolf to the ground.

Scar growled at his nephew and easily flipped them over. Drake felt his back hit the ground with a thud and the werewolf's claws dug into the vampire's throat, roaring right in his face. Drake used any power he could, and realizing that compulsion doesn't work on the supernatural, he kicked both his feet underneath the monsters underbelly, sending the werewolf away from him.

The vampire jumped to his feet quickly, watching as the werewolf skidded against the rough, forest ground, and taking this as an opportunity, Drake ran over to him, jumping on the monster's back. Swaying back and forth, the werewolf tried to get Drake off of him and once Drake tried to rip off the animal's gigantic head, the werewolf's fang caught hold of the vampire's jacket, whipping him into a tree.

Splinters entered the young vampire's bare hands and a yelp of pain escaped from his mouth. With his luck, the young vampire was bleeding due to how hard he was thrown, but that quickly healed and made his skin flawless once more. Drake stood from the tree and picked the splinters from his hands and watched as the werewolf headed over to him, his long arm raised with his claws extended, and he swiped Drake across the chest, sending him flying backwards once more. _Stabbing a vampire through the heart with wood can kill them_, Drake thought as he winced from pain and shakily stood up from the ground,_ but what can kill a werewolf? _

Watching as the werewolf began running towards him, Drake groaned and with quick thinking, decided to charge at him, but once he got close enough, the young vampire ducked his head and shoved Scar backwards, making him lose his balance and tip over._ Silver..._ Drake thought with a firm nod, _I must find silver... BUT WHERE?_ He began running again, mainly because survival was the main aspect in this current situation, there was no middle ground anymore.

He couldn't help but think that when he was ten years of age, the werewolf let him survive, he remembered as he climbed the tree, and watched as the werewolf clawed for him... he never even tried to climb the tree and kill the young prince, yet, he is doing so now. _Maybe I'm a bigger threat to him now_... Drake thought and picked up the pace once he heard loud foot steps and dangerous panting behind him. _There must be silver back at the castle... _He thought quickly, _There has to be!_ With that in mind, the young vampire pushed his legs faster, leaping into the air just to get away from the monstrous creature that followed behind him during the night.

Hastily, Drake Ashburn came to a sudden halt when he reached the front court yard, that's exactly where a bunch of bodies lined up, and his friends were still fighting off the idiotic shapeshifters. His eyes caught hold of a two brunette's, one girl and one a boy, and a blond boy moving through the forest, and coming towards him, but something else he saw was that the werewolf no longer was interested in him... _No... _He thought with wide eyes and he quickly picked up the bloody sword that stabbed him through his chest, and ended up in front of the trio, just before the werewolf had. His yellowish-red eyes were practically growling as Drake began pushing his friends away and he held the sword tight in hand, watching the animal with intense eyes.

With his luck, the sword probably wasn't made of silver, but he needed to protect them... protect HER. "DRAKE!" Victoria's voice sounded frightened, but he kept his focus on the beat that opened his mouth and began clamping his jaws down. Drake quickly jumped back and slashed him with the sword, but nothing happened... there was a mere flinch, but it didn't slow him down.

"GO!" Drake commanded over to them, though, he never lost focus. "I THOUGHT YOUR PARENTS TOOK YOU THREE IN THE DAMN CASTLE."

"I'm fighting for this." Victoria stated boldly, however, Drake could still hear the fear in her voice, "This is my home too, Drake." He nodded his head and watched as the werewolf struck again. He jumped out of the way and tried to slash him with the sharp blade again, but nothing worked... Not one whimper, yelp or even wince this time... It's like he got stronger, either that, or he expected it.

The werewolf roared loudly, his mouth opening rather wide and this made Victoria, Ayden and Nick flinch and stumble backwards. Drake, however, found this as a great opportunity.

_ The werewolf stumbled backwards, shaking his head, and then crouching low to the ground, getting ready to jump high. "DRAKE?" A voice called out and all the heads turned, including Drake's. "DRAKE ARE YOU OUT HERE?"_

_"Dad?" The young prince whispered and saw as the shapeshifters and werewolf looked at each other and backed away from the tree, vanishing into the night. It took the prince a moment, making sure they were gone for sure, and when he saw no sight of them, Drake jumped down from the tree and saw his father's presence standing there, "DAD!"_

_"Oh, Drake thank God!" He grinned and opened his arms for his son to run into them. The young prince smiled happily and ran towards his father, but the werewolf shot out from the bushes, landing on top of the king, causing Drake to stumble backwards and scream loudly._

_The king screamed bloody murder and struggled with the beast as it attacked him and ripped him apart. Soon the resistance stopped and his father's arm fell limp to the ground, and tears formed in Drake's eyes. The prince clutched his chest as if touching his own heart and he felt weak, having the urge to collapse. Is he dead? Drake thought and the werewolf turned his head, his yellowish-red eyes fixated on the boy._

Scar didn't think twice or hesitate about killing my father, Drake thought with a glare, watching as the idiot left his mouth open, growling. _And the excuse of being blinded by fury is overplayed, and untrue. He knows exactly who he's going for. _Without hesitation, the young vampire quickly shoved the blade through Scar's wide mouth, stabbing him through the back of the throat.

The werewolf's scream was deafening, and Victoria, Ayden and Nick covered their ears, just before the vampire pulled the sword from his uncle's mouth. The werewolf shook his head over and over, and Drake stumbled backwards, feeling somewhat weak... he hadn't eaten at all today, so that could have been a possibility... he needed to find someone willing to donate blood. His amber eyes watched as the werewolf grew weaker and weaker, slowly turning into his human form.

Weakly, Drake dropped the bloody sword to the ground and watched as a human scar began coughing up blood... _"Life can be very unfair, young Drake, and sometimes they do have mister Harris' planning out people's futures." James stated and the prince frowned, feeling no hope for the future, "Life is the wheel of fortune… a leap of faith and a band of hope." He paused and watched his son intently, "And in this life… we are walking on a path that has yet to reveal itself… Drake, no one knows what life holds for us, and until that path unwinds, we will remain blind to it." The prince nodded, but he didn't want to know about how his future is going to plan out, "Look, some of us fall by the pavement, while others may soar to the stars. Some may sail through their troubles, and some have to live with the scars… but I want you to promise me something." Drake nodded again, allowing his father to continue, "No matter how bad life gets… Don't ever give up. Tomorrows another day."_

"I wont." Drake said out loud, mimicking his smaller voice, and watched as his uncle began dying right before him. Victoria joined his side with side eyes, and everyone around them, who were fighting before, froze and stared with wide eyes as the young vampire brutally murdered his uncle_, but whos to say he didn't deserve it? _He thought and tilted his head to the side, watching as he suffered. Regular witches and warlocks from around the area came over to them with wide eyes, holding lit candles and humming a familiar tune. Drake could tell that by the looks they were giving him, they still didn't like having a vampire as their new king.

"Y-You let him do this..." Scar began talking and looking up at Ayden with hurt features. The blond's eyebrows scrunched together and the man coughed up more blood. Victoria winced and hid her face, turning away to look at something else. "T-To your own f-f-father?"

Drake's eyes widened and he looked over to Ayden, his expression matched the young vampire's perfectly and they looked at one another. By blood, Drake and Ayden were cousins... but he couldn't help but remember what his father had told him about Ayden's father...

_"Dad..." Drake said softly and James tilted his head to the side, "What happened to Ayden's dad?"_

_The question took the king by surprise and he sighed gently, "He's... He's dead, Drake. He died a long time ago." The prince's eyes widened and his father nodded._

"No." Ayden shook his head, watching as his father began choking up blood again. "No way... You... You aren't-"

"He isn't." Drake growled and the blond's eyes widened, "The man who's your father died a long time ago... His name was Jack Ashburn... Apparently he was a lot nicer than _Scar_." The dying man glared up at his nephew and Drake shrugged his shoulders, "You had your chance to back down, and you didn't."

The former king wanted to ring his nephews neck, but he was far too weak, even the color from his face was fading, "At least... K-Kill me now... Save me from-"

"Death is too kind." Drake answered boldly, "I want you to suffer, and then you can rot in hell." Scar's eyes widened and the young vampire didn't give up his straight face, he wasn't getting one smile, even if it was deliberate and just being a smartass, he was getting the look he deserved, "So tell me... How does it feel to be the most hated thing in Ashburn?" The man's eyes widened even more, and his head slowly went towards the ground, and the ex werewolf took his last breath.

"You did it..." A soft voice approached everyone's ears and Drake glanced back to see his mother standing there with wide, tear filled, eyes. "You actually did it..." The young vampire left Victoria's side and at a human pace, he walked over to his mother, nodding, "How..." She began and he tilted his head to the side, "Is this really you?" Drake stared at her for a moment and nodded his head, giving her a tiny smirk, although, he didn't feel like smiling. "I-It is you!" She exclaimed and threw her arms around her son, "H-How did this happen?"

Drake sighed and broke away from his mother, "It's a long story, mom... and I'll tell it as soon as I get inside the castle, but right now... I want to make sure everyone knows and understands what's going on here." Elizabeth nodded her head, smiling happily over to her son and before making a decision and talking to everyone, he looked over to Victoria. "Vee..." She tilted her head to the side and walked over to him, meeting the vampire halfway, "You dropped something." He stated and grabbed the necklace from his pocket, along with the ring, and held it in front of her.

"W-Where did you-?" She asked, her fair hand reaching out to grab it, but he pulled it away, "P-Please give it back... I want it back."

"Just know that... I loved once." He stated and her eyebrows scrunched together, "There was a time where I wanted to be hated, and you experienced that..." She opened her mouth, probably saying that she forgave him, but he continued on, "But I wasn't always like that, Vee, please... remember." And with that, he put the necklace around her neck with inhumanly fast speed, and began walking off, towards the beginning of the courtyard, glancing down at the pile of clothes his uncle wore before turning... he also saw the crown.

All eyes were on him and he cleared his throat, looking at everyone, including the shapeshifters, "I know what you're all wondering..." Drake began and they continued to stare, holding their lit candles, "How a vampire got into the kingdom in the first place... Or maybe you're wondering how I left or even got turned." Cole shifted his feet uncomfortably, but Drake ignored him, "Yes, I am a HALF vampire and you guys can have every reason to hate me, because, before I turned, I had my own reasons to hate them. From the moment we're born, we're told that vampire's are viscous creatures of the night and that there is no good in them. My father, my own father, King James, told me that if a vampire claims to be different, that they're LYING." It was so quiet that Drake could probably have heard a pin drop if it were far into the forest, "I'd hate to say this... but... my father, was wrong." This time, there were tiny gasps, but everyone stopped whispering and gasping once he continued on, "I lived the vampire lifestyle since I was ten years old, and I struggled... before all of this, I met an amazing vampire named Aurora, I didn't even know what was going on with me... I didn't realize what I was, and when I found out... I hated myself."

The human witches and warlocks watched him with intense eyes, and this included all of his friends, his mother, Isabelle, Opal and Phil. "I want everyone to know... That back in the seventeen hundreds... when my ancestor, Thaddeus Ashburn, was king. He only went by with what he knew. Vampire's are vicious, evil monsters, who can't love and who can't live in a community where there are regular human beings. He was wrong too, because like people... there is good and evil in vampires as well." He gestured towards Aurora, "Like her, I met her a couple months after my transformation and she's been by my side, helping me... even though, I was difficult. She says that there are more vampires who are like her, who feed on animal blood, and they don't want to see a human get hurt. She saved my _cousin _Ayden, and my best friend, Victoria... She has guilt and a conscience just like each and everyone of you..." He paused and watched as their faces softened slightly, "So forget about what you think you know about vampires... there's good and evil in everybody, the world needs a balance... and as your new king, I promise to respect that balance and make sure that things don't go bump in the night... As your king, you can look to me as a protector, because that was difficult to find with the previous one... and I'm sorry I didn't return earlier on to fix that."

Drake's eyes glanced down at the ground, and he bent down, picking up the crown, "This... This signature accessory that 'royalty' is supposed to wear... I don't care for it." Everyone smiled and he sighed heavily, "Frankly, I don't ever want to be caught wearing this. It means nothing... It just shows how much power you have over someone else, and I don't want to ever dumb anyone down, or make them feel like they are lower than dirt." He glanced over to the side, catching Asaka's dark eyes, "I know what that felt like..." With that, he tossed the crown into the crowd of people, and some went for it, others, stayed put, staring at him. "I've made mistakes... I regret them, but now... I just have to keep moving forward... SO TODAY, I become king here after... today... is the beginning of the end."

Asaka walked over to him with a wide smile and everyone's eyes widened. "I knew you would do et." She stated firmly and put her right hand over her heart, bowing. He shook his head, and when the female straightened herself out, he pulled Asaka into a hug gently and the witch smiled, patting him on the back, then pulling herself away, "It is time." Her dark eyes glanced over to the balcony, there a throne stayed and his heart began pounding against his chest.

He nodded his head, and turned his back on the silence, feeling as the rain began to pour down. As he started up the stairs, he heard the people of the kingdom humming and singing a familiar tune, and he knew that he was accepted as their king, and that he would be respected. Feeling somewhat confident, he picked up the pace and before he knew it, he ended up in front of the throne, standing. Glancing up at the sky, he grinned and heard a familiar voice, "Remember..." He stated and Drake continued to grin, watching as the people of Ashburn all began bowing before his eyes. Their were millions of people and once he took a seat on the throne, clapping and cheering filled the young vampire's ears.

* * *

**AN: **So, mainly I made this chapter Scar VS Drake... There wasn't a LOT of interaction with the others, because I wanted to focus mainly on Drake and how he felt with this, but I tried to include everyone else. There is one more chapter after this one... and I suppose we'll see what happens :)

Favorite lines:

**Drake:** Sorry about your pet wolf, should of kept him on a tighter leash." **XD**

**Loved this entire part:** "Just know that... I loved once." He stated and her eyebrows scrunched together, "There was a time where I wanted to be hated, and you experienced that..." She opened her mouth, probably saying that she forgave him, but he continued on, "But I wasn't always like that, Vee, please... remember." And with that, he put the necklace around her neck with inhumanly fast speed, and began walking off.

The speech to everyone was pretty good :) Haha Idunno, to me it was... mainly because it stated the truth.

When Drake stabbed Scar in the mouth, I was like HELL YEAH! XDDD

OMG... SCAR IS AYDEN'S DAD? **(Gasp) **So tell me, who saw that one coming ;)))

**OH, I also liked when Scar said:** He tilted his head and began walking towards his nephew, "How do you feel being the most hated thing in the kingdom of Ashburn?"

**AND DRAKE FIRES BACK AFTER SCAR'S BEEN STABBED AND DYYIIINGGGG: **"So tell me... How does it feel to be the most hated thing in Ashburn?" boooyaaah.. xD

SO, until next time...

HEY... does anyone have twitter or facebook? :)


	25. Hearts At Stake

**AN:** Ok, as you guys know, my friend, _Meowx93_, is taking over the sequel to KOA, it's going to take place after Drake assumes the throne, showing how he gets with Victoria, how she turns, how he makes the kingdom better... then it'll set into TLK2 storyline with Lia Ashburn, their daughter. So it'll be a long story, and it won't go off track like how I have a lot with the others, so it's easy to say that she's going to do a very good job with this. I have total faith in her :) and you guys should too.

Of course, there will be AU moments. So _be prepared_ for that, guys.

Alright, so she asked me to post her writing for a last chapter (Which I know I wrote and re-wrote a million times) but we don't want to give up on this. Truth be told, I'm not a big TLK2 fan. **At all**. and I kind of wanted to stay away from it as much as possible, but since meowx93 likes it more than I do, it'll probably turn out better for her.

So give her feedback on how her writing is and if you'll give her a chance, I promise, you won't be disappointed. Nala-Nay has given her feedback and loves what she has written for the new story so far and her and I both definitely encourage her to do this. Do yewwwww? :)

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**Meowx93:**

**Hearts At Stake**

_Cheering_. _Clapping_.

The entire kingdom performed this as their newest king won over the realm, voiced a speech and walked up to the balcony, sitting upon the throne that Scar once nested.

Perilous lightning strikes danced across the nefarious black sky and, through the clouds, the moon created a foggy, eerie glow. Rain poured down upon everyone, dying out their candles and soaking all of their clothes. However, the people of the kingdom did not seem to care. They were too relieved and pleased about their new king that the thought of them being saturated with water didn't discourage them one bit.

Within the distance, shapeshifters lurked, watching this chummy scene with hatred and revulsion as Drake Ashburn smiled and looked up at the sky, almost as if he were retrieving some type of message.

"Some king he'll be." Ashton spat, standing next to his younger brother. "He's pathetic. He ran away for so long, neglected his kingdom..." The shapeshifter seemed to be shaking with anger, about to phase any moment. "All of the sudden he comes back, murders my brother, murders our _king_ and decides that everything's ok again?"

Fire increased behind his eyes, his hands clenched into fists, teeth gritting together. "I want him dead."

"In time..." Elvira, a shapeshifter who remained quite close to Scar, spoke with a sure smile, touching Ashton's arm. "...he will be."

"I want him dead now."

"He's too strong now." She protested, but it was very unclear as to see if he took it all in. "In time, he will be dead, but for now we must be patient."

Ashton was going to argue back but the sound of someone walking made everyone look in a specific direction and Elvira tensed when she saw one of Drake's friends. The one who helped him fight for the kingdom, but didn't particularly like something about this whole situation.

Cole Archer.

His dark brown eyes scanned the people around him and he noticed he walked onto shapeshifter grounds, everyone around him was a follower of Scar and the boy immediately tensed.

"Oh, don't be afraid." Elvira smiled and swiftly moved over to him. "That's the last thing we want, right guys?"

Everyone nodded their heads, however, they kept their focus on Cole, half wondering if the king had sent him here to finish some business.

"Why do you look so blue? Shouldn't you be over there with your friends, enjoying the whole... celebration?"

Cole's eyes met the ground and he shook his head. "No, they hate me."

Pretend compassion embedded onto Elvira's face. "Now why would they hate you?"

Cole refused to talk and Maeva moved along side her sister, examining the boy's mannerisms, noticing a deep depression from within. Something terrible really had gone down. "What did you do?"

"Something awful." He admitted, still unable to look in anyone's eyes. "I really don't want to talk."

"Good." Ashton sighed with annoyance, feeling that this was an utter waste of time. "We don't wanna hear about it."

Elvira and Maeva hissed at Ashton and he immediately stopped talking, Ed, however, began laughing and shaking his head over and over, hitting his hand against the ground.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Elvira asked and Cole shook his head.

"Not unless you can change the past."

"Well, if you want to belong somewhere..." Maeva gave him a flirtatious smile, her bright yellowish-green eyes dancing. "You can always stay with us."

He flinched and jumped backwards, shaking his head over and over. "No way! You guys followed _Scar_! I'm never going to _your_ side." They all growled and he smirked. "Think I'm pretty damn stupid don't you? Well I'm not and I don't need your help! I don't need anyone anymore. I'm fine by myself, thanks."

They watched him run off and the moment Ashton was going to go after him, Elvira's arm wrenched forward, hitting him square in the chest. "Don't. Leave him be."

"But Elvira, he can go back and tell-"

The shapeshifter laughed sinisterly, "He isn't going anywhere."

Cole walked through the forest, muttering to himself about those mangy shapeshifters and how ridiculous they were. Somewhere behind him, a twig snapped and Cole looked around for a moment, unable to see anything. "What the hell..." He muttered and decided to just keep walking. All he needed to do was get past that gate and he was gone. Out of this kingdom. Forever.

He wouldn't have to keep reminding himself that he's the most hated in that group. Out in the normal world, he'd start a new life, be a new person. A better person.

_Snap_.

Out of paranoia, he spun around again, hearing eerie laughter and shuffling of leaves... it was as if someone were running. "H-Hello?" He called out and glanced around nervously. "I swear, if it's you shapeshifters... you'll have another thing comin'!" No answer, just more shuffling of the leaves and this time it came from behind him.

Cole turned quickly and looked through the darkness, gulping. "I'M NOT SCARED OF YOU!" The boy stuck his hand in his pocket, gripping the pocket knife. "COME ON! SHOW YOURSELF!"

Abruptly, everything stopped. The laughter, the running.

He still looked around nervously and nodded his head. "YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT!"

Triumph washed through his body and quickly, the boy turned and continued to walk, but when he did, he felt his body get wrenched into the air, pulled up into the tree's. Sharp fangs pierced his skin, and Cole's bloody scream bounced off the night sky, causing birds to fly from their resting place, causing any bystander to stop petrified.

Elvira, Maeva, Ashton and Ed followed the scream, but when they saw emptiness, they all glanced around, knowing that something happened.

_Thump_.

A body hit the ground, his neck was practically torn out and Maeva, Ashton and Ed stumbled backwards, however, Elvira smirked peering down at the boy and looking up in the trees, where a vampire jumped down. He had light brown hair, light brown eyes and a smirk that could go on and on for ages.

"Ladies," he bowed his head respectfully, "Gentlemen."

Ashton felt himself trembling, pushing his younger, slower, brother in front of him. "W- WHO ARE YOU?"

The man's brown eyes flashed over to the shapeshifter and he laughed merrily. "I don't believe we should get too friendly, Ashton. It may give you the wrong idea, and who knows how long you'll be around for."

"Demitri is an original vampire, he knew who the original witch was and it's said that all vampires stem from him." Elvira spoke and he hissed, glaring at her. "Believe me, you can trust them. They want to bring him back just as much as I do."

The original vampire they call Demitri smirked, and lowered his voice to a rough whisper. "You do realize that if I get a hold of this book, there is no turning back. He will be alive again, possibly more powerful and dangerous than anyone has ever imagined and he could be a living tormentor or hunter on this earth."

"I do realize this, but it's Scar." She grinned, but quickly enough that smile was wiped off and seriousness took over. "Now, what must I do to bring him back? Surly I need to prepare myself for this spell the original witch has to offer."

Demitri smirked kicking Cole's pale body aside. "Great power requires great sacrifice, young Elvira." She gulped and he continued on, hissing in a sly tone of voice. "How do you think I became to be the most powerful original vampire?" When they all shook their heads, the prevailing vampire before them laughed maniacally and his eyes grew large with insanity. "I killed them!"

"Sorry but, how does one kill an original vampire? I thought you people couldn't die..." Everyone shot a glare over to Ashton and he immediately became nervous. "Not for future references or anything..."

"I'll tell you how I killed the other original vampires." He grinned, getting into the shapeshifters face, the man's body trembling with fear. "I shoved my hand through their chests and ripped out their slow... beating... _hearts_."

Ashton, Maeva and Ed winced, Elvira, however, frowned and understood what he was going to tell her next. "One by one... they all perished. You see, I'm not only an original, I trained to hunt. To kill. I kill for a ... undead... _living_." Demitri pointed a finger at Ashton. "As for people like you, ripping out someones heart takes a whole lot of strength, which only the originals contain."

"Then what do _we_ do?"

Demitri laughed again and clapped his hands together. "Well you cut it out, of course!" Brown eyes shifted over to Elvira, who immediately gasped. "Which is exactly what you must practice for the spell...Cut out... a heart..."

"Any heart? What is the heart needed for? A ritual?"

"Precisely, but you must cut out the beating human heart of someone _pure of spirit_." Everyone flinched, he, however, ignored them. His focus was on Elvira and Elvira only. "How far are you willing to go?" Demitri exhaled, his lips growing closer to her ear. A tingling sensation burned the hairs on her neck as he began to circle her like a shark fixed upon it's prey. "How far are you willing to go... to get exactly what you want?"

She knew exactly who she would go after, who else better than to go after the one human who was pure enough to die for the kingdom and for her own brother. "As far as it takes."

He grinned, bowing his head in respect. "I shall retrieve the book for you, meanwhile, I want you to pin point who you want and lure them here. The ritual will being on the full moon, when Scar was his strongest. The victim must still be alive when the ritual begins, during the spell is when you cut it out and spill it's blood."

"Don't worry, I already know who I want, I know who is pure of heart." She smirked and Demitri and the rest of the shapeshifters gave her a confused look. "It'll be two birds with one stone."

"What are you talking about, Elvira?" Maeva breathed and the woman shrieked with laughter, repeating that it was strangely brilliant over and over and over again. "Can you please tell us what's going on!"

"We will kill the thing Drake loves... or wants most."

Maeva sighed angrily, crossing her arms over her chest, clearly getting fed up with the riddles. "Which is?"

Victoria. Freakin'. Morlet.

That subject was a rather touchy one.

Days ago, it was said that Scar was going to choose his queen, someone to live by him and give him children, and when Elvira had hoped it was her, Scar had ultimately chosen that Victoria bitch because she was a strong willed girl with definite beauty, but pure of heart. No one would die for their family or kingdom if they weren't. Of course, people say they would all the time, but saying and doing are two completely different things.

Yet, of course, she was all Scar wanted. Someone beautiful... as an icon to rule beside him, now Elvira realized that love wasn't even an option. He didn't _love_ Victoria, but she was breathtaking, even for a human, and he wanted her _body_, wanted her looks to pass down to his children... and now what better way to award Scar the gift of Victoria's actual heart, and as much as it pains Elvira, Victoria then... would truly be his.

"We'll go for Drake's _heart_." She smirked, keeping a metaphorical mind, her red eyes focusing on nothing in particular but the mental images of a dying Victoria. "After all, how else does one kill a vampire?"

They all exchanged looks of understatement and Elvira smirked, looking to the heavens. "Don't worry, Scar. Everything will be back to normal soon and guess what?" She laughed and they all shivered. "Victoria will be the sacrifice."

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**AN:** So how was her chapter? I am leaving November 4th to go on that internship and she wanted to start it as soon as possible. Seriously guys, just give it a chance, I'm sure it'll be great. :]

**Meowx93 message:** hiyaaa i hope u enjoyed my chapter :'D v_v xD .-. ._. (zees are my many faces)


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